Rev. Henry Rossman's call from the German Reformed congregations of Loop, Boalsburg, and Penn's Creek was confirmed April 27, 1812. He had charge of all organized congregations in Centre County except Rebersburg and Aaronsburg. He was followed by Rev. B. S. Schenck in 1828 and Rev. P. S. Fisher in 1832. The Boalsburg church was organized in 1822 by Rev. Henry Rossman.

The Lutheran congregation of Boalsburg was formed in 1825 when they united with the German Reformed congregation and built a stone church, the corner-stone was laid on June 6, 1825, and the dedication was on August 4, 1827. The first pastor was Rev. J. T. Abele

In early 1861, the Reformed congregation disposed of their interest in the stone church to the Lutherans bought the land of George Shenebarger and built their own church. When the dedication sermons for an organ were preached in 1868, they were done in both English and German.

In 1868, the stone church was torn down and a new church erected for the Lutheran congregation.

It seems that Boalsburg Cemetery had been closely linked to the history of the two adjoining churches, although no formal connection has been found. The cemetery's articles of incorporation were recorded May 21, 1863.

A Boalsburg tradition was begun on July 4, 1853, when Emma Hunter and Sophie Keller went to the Boalsburg Cemetery to place flowers on the grave of
Emma's father, Dr Reuben Hunter, who had died while serving the Union Army. The girls noticed the barren appearance of the other graves, and they decided to decorate the graves of all the soldiers of Boalsburg 148th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. When they returned to the cemetery later in the day, they met Mrs Elizabeth Myers, the mother of Private Amos Myers, who was placing flowers on her son's grave. The three placed flowers on all of the graves and agreed to repeat the decoration of the graves the following year. As time went by, other township people began to participate. This decoration of soldiers' graves became a national tradition. Several other towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day but the people of Boalsburg claim that their celebration preceded that of others. By 1879, the Memorial Day observance at Boalsburg had become an important yearly event, celebrated by nearly all the townspeople. Today it is a weekend-long event that attracts many visitors each year.

Sources:
1. Linn, John Blair. History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania. L. H. Everts 1883 pages 156-157
2. Robin Moore The Land where We Belong, a brief history of Boalsburg. Colonial Press, 1996 pages unnumbered.
3. The Cemeteries of Harris Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. Printed by the Centre County Genealogy Society in 1998 pages 11-12

Directions:
The cemetery is located between US Route 322 and the Old Boalsburg Road, a few miles from State College. It is behind the Zion Lutheran Church on Boalsburg Pike in Boalsburg, PA.