Ireton Area Cemeteries

(Reading, Washington,

Eagle and Center Townships)

The town of Ireton lies in the far northwest corner of Reading Township, Sioux County, Iowa.  It is just east of Washington Township; just southeast of Eagle Township and just south of Center township.  At one time, there were private burial plots in several areas in these townships; however, bodies from those plots appear to have been moved when cemeteries were established.  At the present time, the following cemeteries exist:

Pleasant Hill Cemetery (Ireton, Reading Township)

St. John's Lutheran Cemetery (Reading Township)

Union Hill Cemetery (eastern Washington Township)

Rock River Lutheran (Highland) Cemetery (eastern Eagle Township)

Many Sioux County cemetery records may be found online.  The following links may be helpful to you:

Index of Burials compiled by Wilma J. Vande Berg, researcher for the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society

Found at:  http://iagenweb.org/sioux/cem_index.htm

Sioux County WPA Graves Registration Records (1930's and earlier) may be found at:

http://iowawpagraves.org/index.php?cid=84

Iowa Gravestone Photo Project may be found at:

http://iowagravestones.org/index.php/cid_84/

In addition, many obituaries may be found in the Sioux County Newspaper Archives available at:

http://siouxcounty.newspaperarchive.com/

More recent obituary information may be found at:

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/main_obituaries/

Porter Funeral Homes also has obituary information

online at:  http://www.porterfuneralhomes.com/site/obituaries.html

The Sioux County project of the Iowa GenWeb site also has obituary information:

Sioux County Obituaries

To locate obituary information, it is often helpful to first find the year of death from the burials and photos above and then to search that year by the last name.

Pleasant Hill Cemetery

City of Ireton (Reading Township)

Corner of Eagle Avenue & 470th Street

Pleasant Hill Cemetery is located in the southeast corner of the town of Ireton.  In 1879, the first church building in Reading Township was erected in the southeast corner of what is now Pleasant Hill Cemetery.  Called the Pleasant Hill church, it was erected by the Methodist Episcopal Society.  It was 27' x 37' with 12' posts and was constructed at a cost of $900.  The church was dedicated on June 8, 1879.

In April, 1880, there is a newspaper mention of the county surveyor going to Reading Township to lay out 3 acres for a cemetery.  Although it is not clear that this is Pleasant Hill, it seems likely since the first section of Pleasant Hill was a 3-acre tract.

The first known burial is of a child of Solomon and Rosina Persy (Percy).  The body was originally buried in a plot in "Corn Valley" - the plot would now be located on the south side of Iowa Highway 10 between Dipper and Dogwood Avenues.  We do not have a record of the date of burial in Pleasant Hill but it was probably in late 1880 or early 1881.  The grave is located just south of the church's former location as are many of the earliest graves in Pleasant Hill.

After the town of Ireton sprang to life in 1882, the Methodist church was moved to a location in the new town; however, the cemetery remained on "Pleasant Hill".  After St. Paul's Lutheran Church was founded in 1886, a German Lutheran cemetery was established north of the original Pleasant Hill Cemetery.  For many years, the two cemeteries were administered separately.  The southern portion (the "American" portion) was governed by the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association.  The northern portion (the "German Lutheran" section) was governed by St. Paul's.  There was a fence dividing the two cemeteries.

At some time prior to 1908, 3 additional acres running from north to south were added on the western edge of the 2 cemeteries.  Included on the northern portion of that tract was a "Potters Field" for the burial of unknown or indigent bodies.

In 1934, the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association deeded its portion of the cemetery to the City of Ireton.  In 1960, St. Paul's deeded the German Lutheran portion to the city.

At various times the condition of the cemetery was allowed to deteriorate.  The last major refurbishment occurred in 1974 when the Ireton Senior Citizens organization spent more than $6,000 for the construction of brick gateposts at entrances as well as for the construction of the cemetery sign pictured above at the southeast corner of the cemetery.  Many trees and shrubs were also planted.

In recent years, additional land has been obtained so that the cemetery now extends from Eagle Avenue on the east to the south end of Ireton's main street on the west.  The cemetery is very well-maintained by the City of Ireton and its employees.

Cemetery records are kept at the office of the city clerk; however, we recommend that you check the above sources for information prior to contacting the clerk.

Ireton Civil War Monument

The monument of a civil war soldier was erected by Launtz (or Lantz) Post 215 of the GAR in May of 1919 and dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1919. It consists of a life-size bronze statue of a Civil War soldier atop a granite obelisk, a centerpiece and then a larger base. Engraved on the obelisk is the following: To The Memory Of The Men Who Fought For Our Country And Are Buried In The Ireton Cemetery. On the centerpiece is engraved: 1861-1865.

Facing the monument, the right side  (east side) is engraved with the names of Civil War soldiers who were buried in the cemetery as of 1919:

The left side (west side) is engraved with the names of World War Heroes - these are men from the Ireton Community who died in service in World War I:

The back of the monument is engraved with the names of the committee who spearheaded the monument - 3 of the remaining members of the GAR post who had not died prior to the dedication of the monument. In recent years, the American Legion added a bronze plaque to the rear side of the monument with the names of Ireton servicemen and women who died in World War II, Korea and Vietnam:

Planning for the monument began prior to World War I. In 1917, after "lobbying" by the Ireton and Hawarden GAR posts, the Sioux County Board of Supervisors instituted a 1/2 mill levy for a "Soldiers Monument Fund" as permitted by Section 430 of the 1915 Supplement to the Code of Iowa. Later the Board distributed the funds by allocating $100 per Civil War or Spanish-American War soldier buried in each cemetery seeking to build a monument or memorial chapel. Funds were provided to Ireton, Hawarden, Rock Valley, Boyden and Hull. Ireton received $2400 for the soldiers buried there and raised the remaining cost of the monument by subscription. The Ireton GAR committee visited the cemetery in LeMars, Plymouth County while planning the monument and there is a great deal of similarity between the two monuments.

The base and granite obelisk were created by the Hawarden Monument Works, brought to Ireton by train and then taken to the cemetery by horse and wagon.  We have not found a record of the company casting the soldier; however, the statue arrived separately from the base -- just barely in time for the dedication.  The following is an article from the Ireton Clipper about the soldier:

Hundreds of people attended the dedication services on May 30, 1919.  To read about the day, click here.

The monument has weathered the years but did sustain damage early in its existence.  1921 was a particularly bad year -- in June the statue of the soldier was vandalized when someone shot it on the left breast and left an "angry mark".  Then in September, the statue was blown off its base.

In 1928, a concrete drive was installed around the monument - this proved to be beneficial as noted in the 1930 minutes of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association:

Throughout the years, the soldier has continued to watch over the cemetery and the monument has served as the focus for Ireton's Memorial Day services.

Veterans Memorial

A memorial honoring Ireton Area Veterans is nearing completion.  It is located in the far western section of Pleasant Hill Cemetery.  For more information, click here.

St. John's Lutheran Cemetery

(Rural - Reading Township)

4755 Fir Avenue (Southeast of Ireton)

In 1884, 12 German Lutheran families erected St. John's Lutheran Church on 40 acres of land in Section 15 of Reading township.   8 acres were used for the church grounds and cemetery while the remaining 32 acres provide farming income for the congregation's operations.

The entrance to the cemetery lies to the north of the parish hall and the cemetery is located west of the hall and church.  The church continues to hold Sunday services and burials are still conducted at St. John's.

Among the graves at St. John's are those of Civil War veterans James Cottrill and Fred Franke.  Other names with numerous family members are Baack, Beerman, Bertram, Bowen, Chenhall, Eilts, Franke, Hagge, Heidbrink, Hennrich, Jahn, Kading, Lehrman, Mandelkow, Meyer, Mueller, Onken, Ostermann, Peters, Reinking, Rickleffs, Siege, Toenjes, VanderHamm, and Vlotho.

Union Hill Cemetery

(Old Dunkard Cemetery)

(Also called Pleasant Prairie Cemetery)

(Rural - Washington Township)

Dove Avenue between 450th and 460th Streets

Located 1 mile west and 4 miles south of Ireton, Union Hill Cemetery was the first cemetery in the vicinity of what would become Ireton.  In 1876, a group of pioneers from eastern Washington Township and western Reading Township began to discuss the creation of a cemetery.  They eventually purchased 3 acres in the SE corner of the NE1/4 of Section 36 of Washington Township.  The group incorporated as the Union Hill Cemetery Association with the first board of directors being John Heasly, David Burket, L.M. Black, Jackson Atwood and M.K. DuBois.  The name "Union Hill" was probably selected because many settlers were Civil War veterans.

In 1881, the Association had elaborate plans for the cemetery including a 4-5 board fence with cedar posts and planting 2500 trees.  The measured "plat" shows a 330' x 363' burial ground of 240 plots mostly measuring 10' x 20'.  At the center of the cemetery was to be a Union Monument with access by way of a 20' wide driveway from each of 4 directions and around the entire cemetery.  Plots near the road on the east side of the cemetery were to cost $5 and further west $3 with 2 plots set aside as a Potters Field.

The Association's plans never came to fruition - perhaps due to the location and growth of Ireton nearby where a Veteran's monument was eventually created.

In 1901 the cemetery was sold to the German Baptist Brethren of Pleasant Prairie Church - just across the border in Plymouth County.  They used the burial ground until they disbanded and the cemetery was later known as the "Pleasant Prairie Cemetery" or the "Dunkard" cemetery.

Many of the monuments have been broken or destroyed but among the monuments is the Burket family monument which also marks the grave of Sarah (Gough) Black, wife of homesteader L.M. Black.  Sarah's was the first recorded death in Washington Township.  Also buried at Union Hill is Civil War veteran Ezra Jackson "Jack" Earl.  Family names in the cemetery include Burket, French, Bills, Willey, Ellis, Maust, Carter, Foster, Mitchell, Tooley, Earl, Earll, Jemisson, Spain, DuBois, Van Buskirk, Whitney and Sherman.

The cemetery is maintained through public funds due to the presence of a grave of a Civil War veteran.

Rock River Lutheran Cemetery

a/k/a Highland Cemetery

(Rural - Eagle Township)

410th Street and Dogwood Avenue

Located 5 1/2 miles north and 2 miles west of Ireton, Highland (or Mt. Joy) was a village that developed in the  1890's.  It was located at the corners of Sections 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Eagle Township.

The village included the Mt. Joy Church of God and its parsonage, Rock River Lutheran Church and cemetery, a general store, pump & windmill company and blacksmith shop.

Highland Cemetery is located in the northeast corner of section 13 and was the cemetery of the Rock River Lutheran church which was founded in the 1890's by Norwegian settlers and disbanded  in the 1930's.

In 1979, the Climbing Clovers 4-H club researched the village and erected a large redwood sign showing the layout of Highland.  They also "cleaned-up" the cemetery and its surroundings.  The club continued to maintain the cemetery for a number of years.

The cemetery suffered extensive vandalism in 2000 with over $3,000 in damages including damage to approximately 11 gravestones.  Arrests were made and four area young men were ordered to pay restitution, complete substance abuse counseling, pay a fine, serve 7 days in jail and were placed on probation for 2 years.  Repairs were made through the efforts of the Eagle Township Board of Trustees.

Among the names found in Highland Cemetery are Beckman, Berhow, Gunderson, Hemmingson, Holzmueller, Johnson, Opdahl, Richardson, Thorp and Toft.