Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles, Michigan

Date: 1836 [unknown]
Location: Niles, Berrien County, Michigan, USA
Surnames/tags: cemeteries michigan berrien_county

General Information

Image:Cemetery entrance image here

• Cemetery name: Silverbrook Cemetery; "(also known as 'Niles City Cemetery').
• Address: 1400 East Main Street, Niles, MI 49120
• GPS Coordinates: 41.8208427, -86.2427444

History

Silverbrook Cemetery is named after the brook that runs through the property and was established in 1836 by George Bond, who purchased the original 6 acres. The mausoleum was erected in 1926 and is names Silverbrook Abbey. The cemetery has grown periodically over the years and now contains over 29,000 graves. ^[1]

From “The History of Berrien and Van Buren Counties, Michigan” by D. W. Ensign ^[2]: “In the Elijah Lacey addition to the village of Niles, made on the 19thday of April 1832, a square piece of ground was reserved for burial purposes, and was used as a place of interment for some years. The remains of Elijah Lacey and wife and one or two children, Obed P. Lacey, and their father and mother, Ephraim Lacey and wife, and S. D. Walling, still lie there. Isaac Gray was buried there, his remains were afterwards removed to the city cemetery. About 1836 a tract of six acres was purchased of George N. Bond for a cemetery, and this has been added to by a purchase of eleven acres from Mr. Bond, making a total of seventeen acres. By direction of the Common Council of the city in 1838, George H. Starr surveyed the ground into lots, and the sale of these was commenced. Silver Brook passes through a portion of the ground, and it is known as “Silver Brook Cemetery”.

The cemetery occupies approximately 70 acres of land. The oldest burial is that of Isaac Gray, who was buried in September of 1830.

Notable Monuments

Notable Interments

More Information

• See the Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles, Michigan for profiles of those who have been documented at this cemetery.
• Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery
• City of Niles Cemetery Page has the official rules of operation, downloadable map, and links to the rest of Niles]
• Silverbrook Cemetery on Find-A-Grave

Sources

1. ↑ Chriss Lyon. "Berrien County Cemetery Information and Records."Silverbrook Cemetery, Berrien County Genealogical Society. Accessed 15 Jun 2022.
2. ↑ History of Berrien and Van Buren Counties, page 166.