Woodlawn Cemetery
Winona, Winona County, Minnesota, USA
About
-
- www.woodlawncemeterywinona.org
- Phone: (507)452-6016
- Cemetery ID: 83860
Members have Contributed
Advertisement
Photos
A deed for forty acres of land, selling at a price of $630.00, was recorded September 13, 1862. On January 1, 1883, an additional forty acres were purchased. The Association now owns about 224 acres. As of June 9, 1883, 773 lots had been sold and 2,356 burials made. The association, who set aside twenty percent of the selling price of each lot for maintenance, had $3,500.00 in their account. The remains of Scott Clark had been buried some thirty years previous, with the first internment burial after the land was designated as a human burial ground being that of Benjamin Lowe in the summer of 1862. The largest public cemetery within the City of Winona, it has 21,000+ burials. This cemetery has a section called Potter's Field were indigent persons or unknown persons (such as bodies found in the river or men hitching a ride and then falling off trains and getting run over, etc.) were buried at the cost of the city. Winona was also famous for its "Red Light" district and often newborns or part thereof were found floating in the river after one of the "girls" gave birth. Most of the 1,000+ graves in this section are unmarked. Many of the notable citizens of Winona are buried within this cemetery including the Watkins Family, the Lamberton Family and the Huff Family. The cemetery contains many beautiful and elaborate mausoleums, including one built into the hillside which is rumored to be haunted! It is also the final resting place of the only known Revolutionary War soldier buried in the state. Its many interesting gravestones include angels, a roman soldier, life-like children, weeping women, elaborate columns, bronze sculpture, and one shaped as an anchor for a couple "lost" on the North Sea. The cemetery keeps excellent records. (text by C. Kay)
A deed for forty acres of land, selling at a price of $630.00, was recorded September 13, 1862. On January 1, 1883, an additional forty acres were purchased. The Association now owns about 224 acres. As of June 9, 1883, 773 lots had been sold and 2,356 burials made. The association, who set aside twenty percent of the selling price of each lot for maintenance, had $3,500.00 in their account. The remains of Scott Clark had been buried some thirty years previous, with the first internment burial after the land was designated as a human burial ground being that of Benjamin Lowe in the summer of 1862. The largest public cemetery within the City of Winona, it has 21,000+ burials. This cemetery has a section called Potter's Field were indigent persons or unknown persons (such as bodies found in the river or men hitching a ride and then falling off trains and getting run over, etc.) were buried at the cost of the city. Winona was also famous for its "Red Light" district and often newborns or part thereof were found floating in the river after one of the "girls" gave birth. Most of the 1,000+ graves in this section are unmarked. Many of the notable citizens of Winona are buried within this cemetery including the Watkins Family, the Lamberton Family and the Huff Family. The cemetery contains many beautiful and elaborate mausoleums, including one built into the hillside which is rumored to be haunted! It is also the final resting place of the only known Revolutionary War soldier buried in the state. Its many interesting gravestones include angels, a roman soldier, life-like children, weeping women, elaborate columns, bronze sculpture, and one shaped as an anchor for a couple "lost" on the North Sea. The cemetery keeps excellent records. (text by C. Kay)
Nearby cemeteries
- Added: 1 Jan 2000
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 83860
Cemetery Photos
Now Showing of 6
Potters' Field
Welcome to the Woodlawn Cemetery Potters' Field. "Potters' Field" is a historical designation, going back to the time of the Bible, when a field outside of the settlement was set aside to bury travelers and strangers to the community. A field used for such a purpose would be a non-productive field with poor soil not suitable for crops, perhaps used by potters to dig for clay; thus the term "Potters' Field".
In America, Potters' Field is the final resting place of people who did not have family financial support or personal funds to afford a burial plot. There was no charge to be buried in Potters' Field.
The Woodlawn Cemetery Potters' Field was established when the cemetery was created, in 1863. Some 1200 people were buried here between approximately 1863 and 1939. Some graves probably never had headstones. Some might have had a simple, handmade wooden cross or marker that has long since disappeared. Some were people passing through, whose real names were never known. Many were immigrants and settlers who built lives here, far from their families in distance lands. A great many babies and little children are buried here, as infant mortality was very high, and medical care was lacking. There are many single graves here; lots of these people died impoverished and alone. There are also a great many people here who worked hard and raised wonderful families, the descendants of whom are still with us, enriching our town. These were the laborers, the shopkeepers, the domestic workers, the paperhangers, the stoneworkers and carpenters and trades people of a thousand talents who built our community. We owe them a great dept; they are a part of us. We honor their lives and their contributions and we maintain this lovely flowering hillside as our final tribute to them.
Because these were ordinary people, not much was written down about them and we know little about their individual lives, their struggles, their triumphs and their defeats. If you have an ancestor buried here and would be willing to share his or her story with us, we would be deeply grateful. We will safeguard and treasure that history; it is our history, too.
Welcome to the Woodlawn Cemetery Potters' Field. "Potters' Field" is a historical designation, going back to the time of the Bible, when a field outside of the settlement was set aside to bury travelers and strangers to the community. A field used for such a purpose would be a non-productive field with poor soil not suitable for crops, perhaps used by potters to dig for clay; thus the term "Potters' Field".
In America, Potters' Field is the final resting place of people who did not have family financial support or personal funds to afford a burial plot. There was no charge to be buried in Potters' Field.
The Woodlawn Cemetery Potters' Field was established when the cemetery was created, in 1863. Some 1200 people were buried here between approximately 1863 and 1939. Some graves probably never had headstones. Some might have had a simple, handmade wooden cross or marker that has long since disappeared. Some were people passing through, whose real names were never known. Many were immigrants and settlers who built lives here, far from their families in distance lands. A great many babies and little children are buried here, as infant mortality was very high, and medical care was lacking. There are many single graves here; lots of these people died impoverished and alone. There are also a great many people here who worked hard and raised wonderful families, the descendants of whom are still with us, enriching our town. These were the laborers, the shopkeepers, the domestic workers, the paperhangers, the stoneworkers and carpenters and trades people of a thousand talents who built our community. We owe them a great dept; they are a part of us. We honor their lives and their contributions and we maintain this lovely flowering hillside as our final tribute to them.
Because these were ordinary people, not much was written down about them and we know little about their individual lives, their struggles, their triumphs and their defeats. If you have an ancestor buried here and would be willing to share his or her story with us, we would be deeply grateful. We will safeguard and treasure that history; it is our history, too.
Success
Uploading...
Waiting...
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this cemetery already has 20 photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery
Invalid File Type
Birth and death years unknown.
1 photo picked...
2 photos picked...
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Size exceeded
Too many photos have been uploaded
"Unsupported file type"
• ##count## of 0 memorials with GPS displayed. Double click on map to view more.
Saved
No cemeteries found