Jurisdiction:  Buchanan Township Section 24

 

Established:  June 12, 1832

 

Status:  Inactive

 

Location:  Mead Road East of East River Road on Private Property

 

Cemetery Governing Body:  Buchanan Township

 

Size:  22 ½ acres

 

On June 12, 1832, the United States Government sold 49 acres of land to Joseph Stephens and William Broadhurst in Section 25, Township 7, South Range 18.  This property once bordered Range Line Road, the current home of Stacy Nichols.  She possesses a deed of the property, which shows the cemetery location on it, and she remembers that some of the original stones dated back to the 1700’s.   On September 12, 2001, Cindy L. (Skiles) Frie and Marge (Hess) Yetzke of the Berrien County Genealogical Society visited the cemetery and recorded several stones, including that of William Broadhurst.  William Broadhurst wasn’t only the first owner of the property, but he also platted the town of Benton, just east of the St. Joseph River on what is now East River Road.  The town never settled although a hotel was reportedly constructed there at one point.  The histories of land transactions are:        

            June 12, 1832                      William Broadhurst & Joseph Stephens

            February 10, 1836               George W. Hoffman

            January 10, 1839                 Henry B. Hoffman

            January 12, 1844                 John T. Schoolcraft          

            March 10, 1845                    John F. Taylor (Hall)

            March 20, 1857                    Abraham H. Bunker

            October 31, 1859                 Abraham H. Bunker

            December 24, 1859             Lorenzo P. Alexander

            September 24, 1867            Denison S. Bronson

 

On March 10, 1902. Caleb J. Ingersoll (Ingalls) filed a Quit Claim Deed on the property but on June 2, 1930, there was a court case that voided the original land sale.  The Graves Atlas listed 22 ½ acres for the cemetery on April 19, 1902.