Cemetery History
ISU Cemetery
Excerpt from Iowa State University Retirees Committee Brochure
For over 125 years the University has provided a small cemetery to honor those of its family who wish to be interred near the campus. The Iowa State University Cemetery is located in the northwest corner of campus. It lies nestled in Pammel Woods near the west end of Pammel Drive and north of the Town Engineering Building. Few, if any, other U.S. universities have an official cemetery as extensive as Iowa State's. The burial grounds presently cover 1.7 acres overlooking Clear Creek. Maintenance and management are performed by Facilities Planning & Management.
Currently there are more than 700 graves. Included among them are six university presidents; one acting president; numerous administrators, faculty, staff, their spouses and children; veterans of five wars; two students; and a beloved night watchman and his dog. It is a testament to their dedication to the university that so many staff have chosen to be near it in death.
A few events provide an interesting glimpse into the origin and development of the cemetery. The first burial recorded in the University's archives is that of Tom Lee Thompson, in 1875. That burial took place on a tract of land soon to become the college cemetery. The following year the Board of Trustees ordered that "five acres of land be surveyed under direction of President Welch; that the same be set aside for the purposes of a College Cemetery and be transferred from the department of Horticulture and Forestry to the department of Ornamental Grounds."
To separate the cemetery from other college land, the grounds were fenced in 1883 at a cost of $75.00. Construction in 1888-89 provided an access road running east from the entrance. This would later form a portion of Pammel Drive. The sum of $100 was provided in 1895 in order that "the cemetery be beautified and ornamented and thoroughly cared for."
The most obvious structural improvement on the grounds is the entrance gate. Action to create an attractive entry was initiated in 1915,1916 by the Faculty Women's Club (then known as the Priscilla Club). A donation of $55 from the Club, $50 from a friend, and a letter to President Pearson resulted in the completion in 1917,1918 of a pair of sturdy brick pillars defining the entrance.
In 1936, eight acres of land between Hyland Avenue and the west end of the cemetery were transferred to the university by the Charles Olsan family. This family owned a nearby greenhouse from the turn of the century to the early 1950s. Included on the deeded land were three family graves which became part of the University Cemetery.
Three improvements were made more recently. Wire farm fencing of unknown vintage extending along the south side was replaced in 1994 by a black, wrought iron fence. The 25 foot flag pole which commands the central area was presented by the ISU Retirees on May 31, 1999. A flag is flown on the day of a burial, on Memorial Day, and on other national holidays and significant occasions. The retiree committee presented the gift, Spring 2002, of reconstructing the brick columns and the entrance gate.
Memorial Day services, originally conducted by ROTC personnel, have, since 1995 been conducted under the auspices of the Memorial Day Subcommittee of the ISU Retirees Committee. A service is held in the auditorium of the nearby Molecular Biology Building, followed by the placing of flowers on the graves of those who have died since the last service. Flowers have traditionally been provided by the Horticulture Department.
www.fpm.iastate.edu/cemetery/history.asp