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Gridley Cemetery

Address:
Gridley, KS 66852
Telephone Number: 620.836.3145

Latitude: N38 5 24.07
Longitude: W95 52 36.01

Website: www.gridleyks.org
Email Address: contact@gridleyks.org

About this Exploration:


The Gridley Cemetery, located south and east of Gridley about three quarters of a mile on Emmer Lane, was started in October 1896 after a tragic accident. Owen D. Fessenden, 33 years old, passed away after an accident with a gun. After hunting with his father on Big Creek, he attempted to put his gun away when it went off with the bullet striking him in the abdomen.

According to the 1896 clipping from The Gridley Herald, “Although he knew he was sinking fast, he faced death without a shudder and conversed with his friends to the last, arranged and planned his own funeral and suggested that he be the first to start the new cemetery.” He asked that the land belonging to his family be used as a cemetery.

His stone lies in the center of the circle drive near the entrance to the cemetery. The emblems of The Knights of Pythius and the Modern Woodmen of America are etched above his name. The clipping went on to state, “The sorrowing faces of his beloved brothers and neighbors in the different organizations plainly showed they held him as an esteemed member and the large crowd attending the funeral spoke the sympathy of the entire community. The procession reaching from the church to the cemetery over a mile away. Thirty-six Knights of Pythius headed the procession followed by forty-six Woodmen. There were ninety teams besides a large delegation on foot who could not find conveyance.”

The Fessenden family was one of the founding families of Gridley. The entire article may be read at the Gridley Branch Library located at 512 Main.