Davenport Crematorium
Davenport Crematorium | |
F.G. Clausen | |
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
---|---|
NRHP reference No. | 83002418[1] |
Added to NRHP | January 19, 1983 |
The Davenport Crematorium is located in Fairmount Cemetery in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was the first crematorium established in the state of Iowa and one of the oldest in the United States. The facility was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
History
The first attempt to established a crematorium in Davenport occurred in 1880, four years after the first crematorium opened in the United States.[2] There was little to show for this effort until 1885 when the Northwestern Cremation Society, later renamed the Davenport Cremation Society, was established. The society sold stock to raise funds and in 1889 commissioned prominent local architect, Frederick G. Clausen, to design a building. The following year they purchased land from the West Davenport Cemetery Association, now known as Fairmount Cemetery. The facility opened in 1891 and the first cremation was that of Otto Kochert on May 15 of that year.[3] The crematorium was the first in the state of Iowa and thirteenth in the United States.[2] It is the ninth oldest crematorium still in existence in the United States.[4]
Initially, the crematorium served not only the city of Davenport, but the needs of the state of Iowa and larger cities such as
Architecture
The 1½-story
Fairmount Cemetery
The cemetery was established as the West Davenport Cemetery in 1881 by stockholders who were mostly of German descent. The first burial in the cemetery was John Dibbern on August 1, 1881.[4] It acquired the name Fairmount Cemetery in 1900. A mausoleum, with 530 crypts, was constructed in 1929.[4] By 2014 the cemetery had performed more than 18,600 burials.[5]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Ralph J. Christian. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Davenport Crematorium". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-11-04. with photos
- ^ "1865–1895 – The Development years". Davenport Public Library. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ a b c "Davenport Cemeteries". Davenport Public Library. Archived from the original on 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ a b Roy Booker (September 22, 2014). "Ask the Times: Lots available on Fairmount Cemetery". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2014-11-04.