The cemetery can be found as follows: Go 3.4 miles West of Kremlin on Hiway 2 to an unmarked dirt road, go North 8 miles, West 3 miles to an abandoned church on the left. The cemetery is across the farm access road that runs in front of the church. At the time we were there, there were only 6 markers. The original perimeter boundaries are still identifiable from fence posts still standing. Barbed wire hides in the grass to catch unwary wanderers.

The abandoned church building is a former Church of the Brethren established in 1913, during the "heyday" of settlement along the "Hi Line", where the soil was described as "chocolate loam". The first pastor was John Aaron Brumbaugh. Emerson Garver donated a portion of his homestead for the site of a church building. Construction was begun in 1915, and the church was open for worship services in 1918.

Settlers came, encouraged by the Great Northern Railroad which provided an "Immigrant Car", free of charge for the transport of household goods, animals, etc., that the settlers wanted to bring along. The town of Kremlin was established in 1901 with the construction of a Great Northern Railroad section house, and grew rapidly to a prosperous community.

Local histories of Hill County tell us that 1916-1917 were good years, with abundant crops. Then in 1918, the drought came, and in 1919, day after day it was clear and hot. To the ravages of drought was added the danger of fire. Then came the hail storms, grasshoppers and cutworms. By 1919, many farmers were destitute, and the great exodus to other locales had begun, thereby contributing to the demise of the church.

The abandoned church building now stands as a lonely prairie sentinel in memory of unfulfilled and lost dreams.

By Darlene Casteel, 2004