Lamoni Rose Hill Cemetery

1885 - Rose Hill created with Dancer land

In October 1885 David & Roselia Dancer sold a piece of land where son Albert was buried in 1881 to establish Rose Hill Cemetery (see 1885 deed). It sold for $115 to trustees Elijah Banta (pres), Roselia Dancer (VP), and Seth Bass (sec). Roselia had key influence on its formation. In 1886 the first lots got platted north of this border– of no concern to Roselia but the Dancer heirs corrected this in 1922.

The photo shows the initial cemetery (area A), the dotted encroachment line, and the Dancer family plot where son Albert is buried (the first burial). Albert's tree trunk monument is at the center of their plot. Notably, the Dancers paid the full price of $45 for their 9 lots (3x3 layout) in 1886.

1898 - Adding land for a new west fenceline

In August 1898, Rose Hill's trustees purchased 2 acres, area B, from the RLDS church for $150 (see deed). This addition moved the west edge of Rose Hill 8 rods, or 132', to the west where the fenceline is now. The vertical length of this addition was 40 rods, or 660', more than the 588' length of area A purchased in 1885. Area A had encroached beyond its north border when burial lots were first platted, but now there was a presumption that area A and B had the same 660' length which made Rose Hill a perfect rectangle. More lots were platted and sold above area A up to the 660' line. The rectangular shape for Rose Hill cemetery can be seen on the 1898 Lamoni City Plat.

1922 - Dancer heirs update the borders

In October 1922, the Dancer heirs sold area A for $1 to the trustees (see deed). Most was already owned by the trustees, so this replaced the old deed to include areas outside the perimeter that for decades was used for burials. The heirs would have wanted to shed themselves of any liability for burials on property they still legally owned.

The new dimensions for area A were specified in rods, like area B, not feet. This piece was now 20x40 rods (5 acres). Besides lengthening the area, it also widened it by 30' allowing for another another row of lots and a road. This is why lot 1 in section 3s has one more row east of it with lot 972 as its neighbor, because it got added later (see grid map).

1922 - Last addition for the west cemetery

In December 1922, the trustees purchased area C from the RLDS church for $1,164 (see deed). This made the overall cemetery 12.82 acres in size, measuring 698'x800'. Later the size owned by the trustees was adjusted to 698'x771.7' since the lower 28.3' is part of West Main Street, owned by the city.

This acquisition completed what today is called the "old cemetery" or the "west side." All west side platted lots have a unique lot number, from 1 to 1862 ("lane lots" which begin with a letter came later). The west side was divided into sections to make it easier to communicate where a lot could be found, but section numbers were for convenience only.

1968 - East cemetery and north expansion

In January 1968 the trustees purchased area D from the RLDS church for $6,000 (see deed). It was paid in installments over the next decade. This tripled the size of the cemetery to 37 acres, extending it east to Mulberry Street and north to the city water plant road.

A eastern extension was platted for 14' burial lots interspersed with 8' walking lanes and one 6' wide lane. A new lot ID scheme was used for the east side that was sectioned into numbered blocks, each having lot numbers starting with 1. Both the Block and Lot numbers are needed to uniquely identify an individual lot. This part of the cemetery, south and east of the shed is called the "new cemetery" or the "east side."

The northern extension is for Rose Hill's future expansion and has not been platted yet. The Rose Hill Board rents it as farmland which provides a small income and saves on upkeep.

1970 - City buys a section for water treatment

In May 1970, a 548'x80' portion of land in the northwest corner was sold to the City of Lamoni for $300 (see deed). The city wanted this as part of their water treatment plant facility. Area E in the photo illustrates this 1 acre of land that was sold.

2009 - City given an additional piece of land

In November 2009, a 100'x50' rectangular property, marked as area F in the photo, was deeded to the city at no cost (see quit-claim deed). The city wanted this for a new clear well, as part of the water treatment plant facility.

With this change, Rose Hill Cemetery covers almost 36 acres. About 14 acres are used for farmland, 2 acres in the NW corner is wooded, and the remaining 20 acres requires grounds maintenance (mowing, trimming, tree pruning, brush cutting, roadwork, etc).