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It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that cemeteries began to fund perpetual care endowments for permanent upkeep of cemeteries, the diocese said. With maintenance focused on the new cemetery, the old cemetery began to be overgrown with vegetation. It recently was renamed in their honor.Īs the old cemetery began to run out of space, Catholic burials started taking place across town at Holy Cross Cemetery along Wright Street. “In the late winter, you can see the indentations where there’s graves up on the hill over here,” Newcomb said.Ĭommonly known as Old Catholic Cemetery, pioneers in the area used the grounds from the mid-1800s until space ran out around 1908, according to the Diocese of Marquette. However many people are interred at the Pioneer Catholic Cemetery, the tucked-away grounds are pleasant and peaceful, although it wouldn’t be a cemetery if it didn’t have something eerily unique about it. “We don’t have a specific plan yet, but we’re considering that,” Newcomb said. Newcomb said some headstones had been transferred over to Holy Cross Cemetery for safekeeping, with the hope they can be returned to the renovated cemetery. “Back in the day, they didn’t really record things because part of it, it was families doing it,” he said.
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Newcomb said an estimated 3,000 people were buried at the site, with the exact number unknown.