Cemeteries Visited

Cemetery Log

Cemetery Name/Location: Mound Cemetery Brooklyn Center 

Rating (out of 5): ***

Visited Date(s):

Instagram post(s):

Summary/Thoughts: Large with good roads, good mix of old and new, office on grounds with discarded/unused headstones just thrown around, large Islamic section, lots of portrait headstones

Epiphany Catholic Cemetery (2) *

Very boring/almost all flat stones, right next to a old folks home, tons of religions iconography statues in white, split into two separate cemeteries

Castle Rock Valley Cemetery *****

Very cool secluded cemetery with very old stones with some new and unique stones, awesome state for civil war monument 1913, huge hill in back, in the middle of farms, lots of history available online

Redrose/Red Rose Cemetery ***

Looked to be on someone's property or right next to it, guy from house came over and got water from pump in car, otherwise secluded, lots of old stones and trees with narrow path/road, some not visible from road because of hills/trees, had to go through dirt roads to get there and to Castle Rock Cemetery

Greenvale Cemetery ***

Very small, Side of road in the middle of farmland with little/no trees and dirt path for car, felt very exposed. Not far from main highway in small town with cute post office. Old stones with a few new ones.

St Joseph Catholic Cemetery **

Very hilly, all old stones in back - looks like two seperate cemeteries combined. Dirt road goes around base of hill. A couple of really nice monument stones with lots of angels and crosses (Catholic)

Fort Snelling Ntl Cemetery ****

Just like Arlington Cem, great grandparents buried here. Huge swarm(plague) of grackle, trees sparse in newer areas and all stones are identacle

Swedish Methodist Church Cem **

Found on accident at the end of a Rustic Route that I had to abandon last year due to high water on road. No road to get into but not far from main road, could walk around if wanted. Handful of old stones, no new burials.

Oakwood Cem Pepin WI *****

Really neat unique, very old stones with well maintained dirt roads going through cemetery, old and new sections separate. Right next to private property that shares road. Got intimidated by truck when leaving, seemed like they were following me for awhile until I randomly turned on side street. Otherwise happy find.

St Mary's Cemetery **

Very small but with good mix of old and new. Single road goes through with very little trees. Very weird Catholic monument with crosses for each event in Jesus' life. Catholics are weird. Stone with McBride on it.

Calvary Cemetery **

Old section unreachable by car, with fence closed at front entrance. Road into newer section gives good view down the hill into older section but didn't wander. 

Oakwood Cemetery Red Wing *****

Amazing entrance road into cemetery with huge gate and gorgeous chapel/mausoleum at front. Long road into back where actual cemetery is with a ton of old trees and stones. Well maintained roads but very narrow. Awesome view into parts of Red Wing from top of hill. Very narrow roads in older sections. Very weird children's grave section with a lot of toys and other stuff all over, must be nightmare for groundskeepers. Giant water tower? in middle, very hilly. Weird decorative vents? near graves around entire cemetery, never seen in any other cemetery.

St John's Lutheran Cemetery **

Some older stones towards back but dominated by new granate stones in front with no trees. A few unique ones but not really a lot of monuments or noteworthy peices. Across the street from St. Mary's Catholic cem.

John the Baptist Catholic Cem *

Very small and boring with some headstones just laying on the ground unmoored. Neat entrance sign.

Kahbakong Cem **

Lots of old stones mixed with some new but not very well maintained. Not a lot of trees in major parts. Weird name. Huge family plot for Taylor fam with a history plaque. Lots of war veterans.

Panola German Methodist Cemetery Lindstrom *

Drove far out of the way for next to nothing. Only a handful of stones and 1 car dirt road does not go all the way into cem. A few new stones but mostly older, only some viewable from road. Not near anything.

Fairview Cemetery *****

Very nice older cemetery with lots of unique stones, trees, and well maintained roads.

St Michael's Catholic Cemetery/Hazelwood Cemetery ****

Right next to prison in Stillwater. Very well maintained, with two cemeteries combined. Lots of construction on Hazelwood side. Weird elevated porch with bench, for preaching? Good mix of new and old stones with some very unique imagery.

Union Cemetery ***

Half were flat stones with tons of ugly planters. Small section of old stones including many child graves.

Old Willow River Cemetery ***

Very old cemetery with 2 track dirt road going towards back, not well maintained with no newer burials. New cemetery across the street. Lots of broken and/or missing stones. Left early because of tour group.

Ebenezer Cemetery ***

One family plot built up on stones. Markings mostly in German, all older stones. No trees for miles, right off highway with no signage in the middle of nowhere. Looked to be regularly and lovingly maintained, probably by same family.

Groveland Cemetery ****

Super spooky on cloudy day, tons of old trees and growth and very old stones covered in moss/lichen. Decent dirt road going throughout cemetery with good fence/sign. Some older stones had been preserved in concrete laying down. Didn't feel like Minnesota.

Pioneer Cemetery Chanhassen MN ***

Some really neat white bronze pieces from British immigrants. Small road does not go all the way in with very tight turn around for car. No new burials but still somewhat maintained with lots of tree cover. Obviously forgotten but worth it for the pieces.

Mt Pleasant Cemetery ****

Real spooky vibe - some newer stones but mostly old in huge mix of styles. Slight hill with tree covering headstones. Decent one way road winds through. Right next to large apartment complex with huge empty field behind.

Calvary Cemetery Little Falls ****

Went here to kill time before tattoo. Pretty good mix of stones, with some large monuments and a dirt track road going though. 

St Vincent Cemetery ***

Older stones are in corner on hill, not all visible from paved road. Right next to highway and industrial complex so not a great background and very visible. Old section is not well maintained but rest is very nice with lots of paved roads going though but very narrow. Most newer stones are granite with laser etched pictures and photos. There's a huge Jesus scene monument upon entry.

Washburn-McReavy Hillside Cemetery *****

Corporate-ran cemetery so lots of maintenance workers on site. Tons of roads and landscaping. Good mix of monuments, with enough interesting old ones to be worth it. Found a dead tree that looked to be struck by lightening but hadn't been removed. Amazing view of downtown Minneapolis skyline from atop hill. 

Washburn-McReavy Crystal Lake Cemetery ****

Corporate ran again, but this one had way less trees. Not as interesting as Hillside but had a great mausoleum/chapel building. Very large veteran section with canon monument. 

Gethsemane Cemetery *

Barely anything here to see, besides a few interesting landscape choices and a few newer stones. Mostly flat stones with no trees. Very boring.

Lakewood Cemetery *****

One of the best maintained cemeteries in Minnesota, with lots of events and social media presence. Lots of rich and famous buried here so tons of statuesque monuments and family tombs. Very well maintained roads and landscaping, including large lake in middle plus view of Lake Calhoun over fence. Best in fall/early winter for color but also a ton of bird watching.

United Hebrew/Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery ****

Very crowded stones with tons of pebbles on tomb, typical of Jewish cemeteries in my experience. A few older more traditional stones and children are separate, but mostly all the same granite square stones crowded together. Very narrow, straight, one way roads. Too many visitors, I didn't feel comfortable taking photos there from my car.

Calvary Cemetery *****

Went during fall with full snow cover. Great mix of old stones and monuments with good road maintenance. Really pretty chapel. Fireman monument with statue from 1900s, mostly from the Midway Fire. 

Resurrection Cemetery ***

12/26/2020

Lots of Christmas decorations. Mostly new stones but a few nice older ones. Not a lot of tree cover but went under full snow so it probably looks really different in spring/summer. Good snow maintenance. 

Church of St Peter Catholic Cemetery ***

Very small church yard cemetery but good snow maintenance. Mostly older stones, not a lot of trees.

Acacia Park Cemetery ***

Small but great view of river valley. Most stones are new and/or flat so not a lot to see. Cannon monument for Spanish American war. Good snow maintenance.

Oakland Cemetery *****

Very much St Paul's Lakewood. Lots of rich and famous people here. Gorgeous chapel and monuments. Minnesota's oldest public cemetery. Went in fall with some snow and again in December with full snow, roads were great both times.

Cemetery Name, Location: Roselawn Cemetery

Rating (out of 5):  *****

Visited Date(s): 

Instagram post(s): 

Summary/Thoughts: Huge with lots of trees in older areas, big section of flat stones with no trees on other side. Lots of huge monuments. Very good autumn cemetery with leaf cover.

Cemetery Name, Location: Elmhurst Cemetery, St Paul

Rating (out of 5): ****

Visited Date(s): 11/6/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: A lot of older stones with a large section of newer burials. Newer section has virtually no trees. Many German burials. When I was there, a couple visited a grave and blared rap music for a good 20 minutes. Also saw a Hmong visitor lighting incense/fires for his ancestors.

Cemetery Name, Location: Maple Knoll Cemetery, Maple Grove

Rating (out of 5): ***

Visited Date(s): 11/13/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Mostly newer monuments set facing the road with hardly any signage and no fence, in a neighborhood. Decent road and most monuments visible from car.

Cemetery Name, Location: St Patrick's Cemetery, Maple Grove

Rating (out of 5): ****

Visited Date(s): 11/13/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Nice foliage and road through cemetery, with a good mix of older and newer graves. Good fall colors. Took photos of a flock of turkeys. 

UPDATE 7/2022: Large tree in cemetery fell during storm and was cut. Tree was part of infant grave marker, now at base of stump.

Cemetery Name, Location: St Walburga Cemetery, Rogers

Rating (out of 5): ***

Visited Date(s): 11/13/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Small cemetery next to an older church. Many metal/zinc crosses but with some newer graves too. Area around cemetery is under construction with a newer housing complex right next to it, Google doesn't give the right directions. Really nice gate with cemetery name.

Cemetery Name, Location: Union Cemetery, Long Lake

Rating (out of 5): **

Visited Date(s): 11/13/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Small cemetery with view of lake. Road does not go through cemetery, but there's a parking lot. Started snowing so I didn't try to get out of car. Small side road goes along the side of cemetery but is downhill so most cemetery not visible from car.

Cemetery Name, Location: Rush Creek Cemetery, Maple Grove

Rating (out of 5): ****

Visited Date(s): 11/13/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Very small cemetery with obvious signs of preservation and care. Only a few newer monuments, mostly old. Weird mulch/fireplace at the back hiding a few graves. 

Cemetery Name, Location: Elmwood Cemetery, Rockford

Rating (out of 5): ****

Visited Date(s): 11/13/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Nice gate with well laid-out roads. Good mix of old and new graves. Some up on hill. Not a lot of trees. Started snowing while photographing. 

Cemetery Name, Location: Calvary Catholic Cemetery, St Cloud

Rating (out of 5): ***

Visited Date(s): 11/20/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Barely any trees. The roads were newly paved/done but they didn't go through a good portion of the cemetery, so some interesting monuments were hard to photograph from the car. A lot of metal/iron crosses and a large children section mostly from 1920s-1940s. 

Cemetery Name, Location: Sacred Heart Parish/Trinity/Benton County Cemetery, Sauk Rapids

Rating (out of 5): ***

Visited Date(s): 11/20/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Three cemeteries in one, with not well-thought-out roads. Most of the monuments are newer granite with most of the older monuments being in the Benton County section at the back.

 

Cemetery Name, Location: North Star Cemetery, St Cloud

Rating (out of 5): ****

Visited Date(s): 11/20/21

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: SUPER hilly with the highest hill not accessible by car. Some of the road was concrete or not paved at all, probably mostly for the gravediggers. Gigantic mausoleums at the bottom of the hill but mostly a good mix of newer granite and older monuments. Lots of tree cover and a good mix of types. 

Cemetery Name, Location: Hillcrest Cemetery, Glencoe

Rating (out of 5): ***

Visited Date(s): 1/8/2022

Instagram post(s): y

Summary/Thoughts: Not a good cemetery for deep snow - on a slight hill and removal was shabby with lots of ice. Car almost got stuck or slid around. Some good older monuments but a large section was newer granite squares. Would be much better outside of winter, on a dry day.

Cemetery Name, Location: Norwood-Young America City Cemetery, Norwood Young America

Rating (out of 5): 

Visited Date(s): 

Instagram post(s): 

Summary/Thoughts:

Cemetery Name, Location: 

Rating (out of 5): 

Visited Date(s): 

Instagram post(s): 

Summary/Thoughts:

Cemetery Name, Location: 

Rating (out of 5): 

Visited Date(s): 

Instagram post(s): 

Summary/Thoughts: