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The Beginning
Greenmount
Cemetery has a history closely associated with that of Salem Church
and South Quincy. The story of one could not be told without including
some words about the other two. The fact is Greenmount Cemetery belongs
not solely to Salem Church but also to South Quincy and indeed to the
whole city and surrounding communities. It is the sacred spot for thousands
of families from all walks of life and from every religious persuasion
who have laid their loved ones to rest.
In
April 1845, John Christoph Jung who was born in Ossweil, Wuerteenberg,
Germany in 1819, became the pastor of the "Bergkirche", as
the first German church in Quincy was called. Around Easter time of
1848 Rev. Jung founded Salem's congregation and served the church from
1848-1852. The congregation met in his home at 725 Maine and later in
the Congregational Church building on the northwest corner of 5th and
Jersey, where now we find the Quincy Herald-Whig. Under his leadership,
the congregation started their first church building in May of 1848.
It was a small brick building located on the northeast corner of Ninth
and State Streets. The Salem Church building is still at this location
today.
From these beginnings the Green Mound Cemetery
was founded. The congregation tried in 1856 and in 1866 to acquire land
for a cemetery, but the arrangements could not be made. The congregation
tried a third time, in the spring of 1875, under the leadership of Rev.
Simon Kuhlenhoelter. On June 8, 1875 Salem Congregation decided to buy
a tract of land on South 12th Street, just outside of the city limits,
for the purpose of providing a burial ground. This land is just east
of South Park, on one of the highest and driest points near the city
limits.

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© 2001 Greenmount Cemetery. All rights reserved.
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