City of Lansing Cemetery History
North Cemetery
In 1960, the City of Lansing through annexation became the maintenance guardian of the North Delhi Cemetery. The cemetery was renamed ?North Cemetery? and is composed of 3.24 acres.
Records show that on May 17, 1852, a purchase price of $55 was paid by the Delhi Township Board to Joshua North for the original tract of land.
The older part of the cemetery was plotted but apparently use was limited to members of the North family and close friends. Unfortunately no records exist as to where individual burials were made. This part of the cemetery is located at the south end of the grounds and faces Miller Road.
Today, the only burials permitted are those persons who already have acquired burial rights privileges through inheritance or transfers of ownership. There are no gravesites available for sale to the public.
Delhi Township did not have a perpetual care fund so the City of Lansing assumed the entire cost of maintenance.
The first burial after annexation occurred on January 23, 1961.
Evergreen Cemetery
The land we know today as Evergreen Cemetery was once owned by Mr. C. Tobias and was known as the Tobias Farm. Mr. Tobias deeded the land to a young man named Edward Banks who he had treated like a son because he had no children of his own. Edward Banks later sold the land to the City of Lansing in 1922. The land was comprised of 103.96 acres.
Development of Evergreen Cemetery began under the supervision of Bruce McKim shortly before he left the City on April 5, 1928. The new Sexton, Harold Leavitt, took over on April 7, 1928 and assumed the responsibility for finishing the work of seeding, staking of lots and laying out of water lines for the initial two sections we know as Section A and Section B.
Little Arlington Memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1950. Each year on the Saturday prior to Memorial Day, civilian and military services are conducted starting at 12:00 noon to honor those men and women who served their country in times of military need. There are 120 graves in Little Arlington. The military markers identifying the individual graves reflect a cross-section of service branches, religious faiths and ethnic heritage.
Mt. Hope Cemetery
The first cemetery in Lansing was located at Turner and Grand River in North Lansing. The second was near North Cedar and East Michigan Avenue. The third was at Oak Park on Shiawassee Street.
On April 3, 1871, the people of Lansing voted on a bond issue to purchase the land we know as Mt. Hope cemetery. A special committee recommended the Miller Farm. The property was purchased from John and Rebecca Miller at a cost of $8,000.
On November 28, 1873, the Cemetery was officially named Mt. Hope Cemetery after a cemetery in New York from where many of the pioneers originally came. Mt. Hope Cemetery is comprised of approximately 82 acres.
There are many interesting and historical interments, monuments and special sites within Mt. Hope Cemetery. Among some of the most interesting are the R.E. Olds Mausoleum, the Spanish American and World War I Veteran Memorial and the Unknown Fireman Monument. Many of Lansing?s dignitaries are interred along the west side of Section F.
Mt. Hope Cemetery is easily recognizable by its famed white arch entrance way that leads visitors through the winding and hilly grounds with large and notable monuments and markers.
