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Clinton County to consider creating Pioneer Cemetery Commission

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By Steven Martens | Monday, December 10, 2007 |

CLINTON, Iowa — Ann Soenksen has been keeping tabs on Clinton County’s historic cemeteries for more than 30 years. Now, she has volunteered to be among a group that would be in charge of their upkeep.

Soenksen, president of the Central Community Historical Society in DeWitt, is part of a movement to establish a Pioneer Cemetery Commission in Clinton County. The Clinton County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the issue Monday and is expected to vote on an ordinance establishing the commission at its Dec. 17 meeting.

The nine-member commission would be in charge of the upkeep of 25 to 30 pioneer cemeteries in Clinton County, defined as cemeteries where there have been no more than six burials in the last 50 years, Soenksen said.

The nine commission members will be appointed by the Clinton County Board of Supervisors, and the commission will have the authority to seek funding from the county for the upkeep of the cemeteries.

Soenksen, who started making lists of people buried in Clinton County cemeteries in 1975, said the pioneer cemeteries, such as Hess Cemetery in Clinton, Alger Cemetery near Calamus and Miller Cemetery north of Clinton, are in need of stone repair, mowing and general cleanup.

“They need to be taken care of,” she said.

Jill Davisson, chairwoman of the board of supervisors, said she has heard nothing but positive feedback about the proposed commission.

“I think it’s a good thing we can do for the county and for the generations that came before us,” Davisson said.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.