By Frank Passic
THE BEGINNINGS OF RIVERSIDE CEMETERY
The land upon which Riverside Cemetery in Albion is located was once part of an original 80-acre plot located in Albion Township. The first two owners of the property were women, an unusual feat in those days. Betsey Lewis (1798-1851) of Monroe County, New York purchased the property from the U.S. Government on July 4, 1834. Ann M. Warner (1805-1853) purchased the property from Betsey on January 18, 1836 for the sum of $400.
Jesse Crowell (1797-1872) came to “The Forks” from Albion Township, Oswego County, New York. The Village of Albion was platted in May, 1836 by a group of investors known as the Albion Company, headed by Crowell. Crowell laid the plat for the village, brought the post office to town, donated land for the College, and was later proclaimed “Albion’s Greatest Benefactor.”
It was Crowell who personally purchased the 80-acre plot from Ann Warner on July 9, 1836 for the sum of $1,000, two months after the Village of Albion had been platted. Crowell decided to provide Albion with a cemetery, and chose a site on the east bank of the south branch of the Kalamazoo River. He surveyed, plotted, and cleared out the original 1 ½ -acre plot for burials, completing the task during the summer of 1837. The plots were laid out oriented north-south for the length, with 152 8-grave lots. A central east-west drive bisected the center. This is the original Old Grounds. Crowell later transferred his property to the Albion Company on February 1, 1838.
A triangular-shaped section on the east side of the cemetery was reserved for indigent burials and was called “Stranger’s Ground.” Later, this was changed to “Potter’s Field.” Early burial ledger entries here include, “Indian at Seminary,” The German Stranger,” and “Unknown Baby found in River.” The first recorded burial in this section was that of Philander Chapman, buried on July 18, 1844. There are at least 46 recorded burials in this section.
The original operation of the cemetery was placed under the auspices of the Albion Township Board of Health, since Albion at that time was still an unincorporated village until 1855. After the Albion Company was disbanded in 1842, Crowell received back his original 80-acre plot, minus the cemetery, and formed a new firm with his partner William V. Morrison called Crowell and Morrison. That firm sold 13.27 acres of land to the Albion Board of Health for the sum of $261.60 on November 12, 1853, which greatly expanded the cemetery grounds.
Finally, the first burial at Riverside occurred in September, 1837, the same year that Michigan became a State. Jesse Crowell operated a grist/flour mill on E. Erie St., known as the Red Mill (later the site of Consumer’s Power Company). One of his employees was Harlow Green (1812-1837), a millwright who boarded at the home of Stephen and Polly (Millington) Blodgett. The historian Dr. Elmore Palmer related the following story in the Albion Mirror newspaper on August 7, 1908: “Miss Louisa Blodgett [1823-1909] and one Harlow Green, with some others, on a sunny afternoon had found their way to the place…that had been selected as a spot for the burial of the dead. The thought manifested itself in words when Miss Blodgett said, “I wonder who will be first to be buried here?” Harlow Green, with a voice that seemed a little prophetic, remarked, “I’m glad we don’t know.” Within three weeks, Mr. Green sickened and died and himself was the first burial at Riverside in September, of 1837.” Green’s burial location was unmarked for many years, until a prominent citizen, Charles W. Dalrymple (1833-1907), purchased a modest marker which includes the statement, “First Burial in Cemetery.” That marker is still there today.
Thus were the beginnings of Riverside Cemetery. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photo of the “founder” of Riverside Cemetery, Jesse Crowell. Also pictured is his tombstone in the Old Grounds, cleaned in 2022 by Steve Mills. If you would like to leave “virtual flowers” on Crowell’s www.findagrave.com burial listing, his memorial ID number is 8154099. How many of our readers have ever walked in the original “Old Grounds” of Riverside Cemetery in Albion?
