Potter Cemetery, originally known as Swan Creek Cemetery, is privately owned by the Trustees and Friends of Potter Cemetery, a non-profit group, established in 1998 to "restore, maintain and preserve Potter Cemetery for this generation and the generations to come", and has limited days and hours of access throughout the year. Most of those days are weekends and holidays.
The cemetery was established in June 1860 when Royal L. Potter (later a Civil War soldier) and John D. Flint, and their wives, each deeded ½ acre to form the 1.047 acre cemetery. Burials began in 1847, however, with the interment of Roswell Flint, father of John D., and ended in 1930, to the best of our knowledge, with the burial of Samuel Hawley. The cemetery holds the remains of six CW soldiers, 5 members of Masonic Lodges, men women and children of the area at that time. It is surrounded by a 5 ½' fence and locked gate and access is only via a ¾ mile long easement overseen by Ash Township. Some of those interred in the cemetery do not have markers, at least none that have been found. Those people are: Ella Colburn, Cecil Connelly, Ella Francisco, Henry Gretzler, Julia Kemnitz, David E. Labo, Almira Wheeler. However research tells us they are buried here. Some names on the stones are not buried in Potter but rather moved away and are buried elsewhere.
Since 1998 "Friends" has been restoring the markers and grounds. Nearly every marker was broken or on the ground, trees had toppled, animals had dug holes and the cemetery was in deplorable condition. On September 17, 2017 the cemetery was proudly re-dedicated, a flagpole erected, and MI State historical marker dedicated.

(text by Sue Donovan)