Union Cemetery

Union Cemetery

Union Cemetery is a beautiful, serene place on the outskirts of Humboldt. It has a blend of generations of citizens, from the earliest settlers of the area to today's loved ones. It is a great place to explore and visit to recall the lives of those that have came before us.

Union Cemetery

Rules, Regulations, and Fees as of January 2020

Cemetery Hours:  6:00 AM – 10:00 PM

General Regulations

1. Rules and regulations of the Union Cemetery and prices for interment spaces and services are set by the City of Humboldt, and become effective upon approval by the Humboldt City Council.
2. The City of Humboldt retains to itself, for the benefit of all interment rights owners, full and complete supervision, control, and management of the land, buildings, improvements, roads, walks, utilities, development, and records, and the full and complete authority, rights, and privileges to make, change, administer, and enforce all rules and regulations and restrictions not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Iowa.
3. All certificates of interment rights for lots in Union Cemetery are sold in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Iowa, and shall not be used for any other purpose than as a burial place for human beings.  All interment spaces include a perpetual care provision.
4. Interment rights must be paid in full before a burial is made.
5. No person, other than City of Humboldt employees, shall be allowed to perform any work within the Union Cemetery without the permission of the Cemetery Sexton or the City of Humboldt. 
6. 10 mph speed limit in all areas.
7. Driving on the grass/off the roadway is prohibited.
8. Pets must be under the control of their owners/caretakers at all times.  Droppings must be picked up and disposed of properly.
9. Any questions may be directed to the Sexton by calling (515) 332-4280 or City Hall @ (515) 332-3435.

Flower and Decoration Regulations 

1. In observance of Memorial Day, flowers may be placed on the ground from May 15 to June 15.
2. Grave blankets and wreaths are allowed as winter decorations from November 15 until the spring cleanup beginning March 1.
3. Flags may be placed on graves for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Flag Day, and Veteran’s Day.  Flags are subject to removal within ten (10) days following the holiday.
4. Flowers may be secured to stones or in plant hangers year-round.
5. Union Cemetery reserves the right to remove flowers, wreaths, flags and other items placed on graves when they become unsightly and faded.
6. All flowers not secured to stones or in plant hangers maybe be removed by cemetery staff outside of the Memorial Day observance dates listed above.
7. Glass containers of any kind are prohibited.
8. Planting flowers, bushes, trees, shrubs, etc. is not permitted.
9. Union Cemetery shall have the right to remove all objects whose appearance and condition warrant removal and/or violate the Union Cemetery rules and regulations.
10. Union Cemetery and the City of Humboldt shall not be responsible for any item that may be lost, misplaced, broken or stolen.

Interment & Funeral Regulations

1. Interments on a lot are restricted to those entitled to burial thereon according to these rules and regulations.
2. City Hall and Sexton must be informed of all interments two (2) business days, Monday-Friday 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM, prior to the day of interment.
3. Normal hours permitted for interment are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM, and Saturday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM.  Interments arriving in the cemetery after these hours will be subject to a late fee of $100/hour.
4. Union Cemetery requires that all interments, including those of cremated remains, use an approved burial vault made of concrete or such other material with comparable strength and resistance to deterioration.
5. The scattering of cremated remains over a family lot is strictly prohibited.
6. There will be no Sunday or city-observed holiday interments without prior permission from the Sexton.  This permission will be granted for emergencies only. The following are City-observed holidays: New Year’s Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. If any of the listed holidays fall on a Saturday, the Cemetery will be closed from the preceding Friday through, and including the following Sunday. If any of the listed holidays fall on a Sunday, the Cemetery will be closed from the preceding Saturday through and including the following Monday.
7. No interment may take place on the Memorial Day extended weekend. This shall include Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
8. All graves shall be opened and closed by City staff only unless prior approval by the Cemetery Sexton is granted.
9. Cremation interments shall not be permitted December through March unless approved by the Cemetery Sexton.
10. Two cremated remains will be permitted on one empty space. Cremated remains may be interred in an occupied grave at the discretion of the Cemetery Sexton.
11. Disinterments shall be done Monday through Friday during normal working hours, April through November.

Markers and Monument Regulations

1. All fees or encumbrances due on a lot must be paid in full prior to any monument being placed on the lot.
2. Footstones and corner markers of any kind are not allowed.
3. Monuments shall be set in accordance with the general plan of the cemetery.
4. In the event a monument or marker is placed where it is necessary to remove it for interment or disinterment, Union Cemetery shall have the right to remove such memorial without notice to the lot owner.  In the event such removal is necessary, the memorial will be replaced in the same condition in which it was when removed.
5. Protective glass or other breakable material is prohibited on memorial markers.
6. Union Cemetery and the City of Humboldt shall not be responsible for any memorial marker or monument that may be lost, broken, or stolen.

Grave Opening/Closing Rates

Adult Interment:
$550 Monday through Friday 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
$700 Saturday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Cremation Interment:
$350 Monday through Friday 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
$500 Saturday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM 

Infant Interment:
$250 Monday through Friday 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
$400 Saturday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Disinterment Fee:
Double the normal applicable rate as shown above. 

Approved Sunday/Holiday Interments shall be double the Saturday rate; Saturday hours also shall apply. 

$100/hour will be added to any funeral procession that enters the Cemetery after the hours listed above. 

A $150 winter rate will be applied from December through March.        

Union Cemetery and the City of Humboldt shall not be liable for any delay of an interment when it has been determined that non-compliance with the rules and regulations of the Cemetery has occurred.

Click on the icons below to see maps and a burial list for the cemetery.

History of Union Cemetery

The land for Union Cemetery was originally donated by Walter Thomas, a man who "proved up" the land where Union Cemetery was not located in the 1860s. Proving up is the process of claiming land according to the Homestead Act of 1862. Abraham Lincoln decreed a settler could claim up to 160 acres of land in exchange for farming/improving the land for 5 years.

Walter's grandson David Thomas came in a covered wagon with his wife Mary and little son Walter to settle near the elder Walter Thomas' farm ten years before the Reverend S.H. Taft brought his colony to found the town of Humboldt in 1863. They had only been here a few years before Mary and a baby daughter were laid to rest in a corner of Walter's farm, which is now the old part (east part) of the cemetery.

The first recorded burial in what is now Union Cemetery was that of George Elithorpe, an early Rutland township settler who located on section 29 of Rutland Township in 1860. He died on November 1, 1862. At the time of his death, there was no graveyard in the county, and Walter Thomas donated 2 acres at the corner of the farm for the cemetery. Mr. Elithorpe's stone is also in the east part of the cemetery.

If George Elithorpe was the first burial, the first death in the township was of Mrs. James Hinton who drowned in the river in the spring of 1862. Her body was not found until the following winter, and she was buried at the time.

In 1869, the formal Cemetery Association was organized for the care of the cemetery. The two-acre cemetery was enlarged to fourteen acres in 1882.

The Civil War Monument (pictured below) was erected by the Grand Army of the Republic in 1885 to honor Civil War veterans living in the area. It is made of white bronze and is 36 feet tall from the top of the soldier's cap to the ground. There are 167 names listed on the monument, and of those, 116 are buried in Union Cemetery.

The stone pillars at the entrance of the cemetery are made from stone taken from the old Humboldt College which was demolished in approximately 1926.

In more recent years, the cemetery size was increased to today's total of 25 acres in the bicentennial year of 1976. In June of 1995, the City of Humboldt took over the care of the cemetery from the Cemetery Association.

(Special thanks to Pat Baker for the historical information on Union Cemetery)