Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
MOUNT CALVARY CEMETERY
MOUNT CALVARY CEMETERY. With the purchase of five acres of land from William Rumpf and Herman Bruening, a burial site for German-speaking Catholics was established on July 19, 1861, and designed for the members of HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH. The cemetery was used as the burial site for members of Holy Trinity from 1861 to 1864.
In 1864 with the construction of SAINT MARY'S CHURCH the cemetery was called St. Mary's Cemetery and operated under the direction of the pastor of St. Mary's Church. Since the parish was established as the German National Parish, the cemetery became the burial place of German Catholic people from Dubuque as well as the outlying regions. The site became the cemetery for three churches with the construction of SACRED HEART CHURCH (1880) and HOLY GHOST CHURCH (1896).
The name of the cemetery was changed to Mt. Calvary in April 1902. This was the year the Calvary Cemetery Association was organized as a corporation under the laws of Iowa. On April 5, 1902, Archbishop John J. KEANE gave the Association a warranty deed to the cemetery. Since that date, purchases of land around the original cemetery have resulted in a total of forty acres being acquired. (Photo Courtesy: http://www.dubuquepostcards.com)