19th Century Cemetary Leveled

A long neglected pioneer cemetary in Western Minnesota's Grant County has been wiped off the map and authorities are investigating.

 

 

 

 

(KFGO News File)

A long neglected pioneer cemetary in Western Minnesota's Grant County has been wiped off the map and authorities are investigating.

Sheriff Dwight Walvatne says the small cemetary was located in the middle of a filed east of Herman, inaccessble by road. Relatives who had ancestors buried there notified him two weeks ago the cemetary was gone. Overgrown with trees and piled with field rocks, the property owner hired a contractor to clear it and the debris was buried nearby. The sheriff brought in an excavator and dug up the debris and recovered several burial markers including one large tombstone.

He does not believe the graves were disturbed. A search did not turn up any trace of human remains. Walvatne believes those involved did not know it was a cemetary. The last known burial was in 1890. It will be up the county attorney to determine whether anyone will be charged.

 

Don Haney

   

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