We are honored to be entrusted with the restoration project of a four-acre historic cemetery in Centreville, just north of Sturgis, Michigan. Although it sits within the city limits, the cemetery was long ago abandoned. Many of the headstones were broken and vandalized. Some of the town’s earliest settlers are buried there. Including Margaret Langley, the wife of the town’s founder, along with veterans who served in the Civil War and Spanish War. Through the diligence of the Amos Sturgis Chapter, NSDAR, it is now an official Michigan State historic site.
Chapter members take great pride in our adopted cemetery. With permission from local authorities and hands-on training provided by several historical preservation of cemeteries workshops, we have had the privilege to clean, straighten, restore, and repair dozens of headstones. Our members can be found at this cemetery at least two Saturdays every month during good weather and many days in between. We are fortunate that a couple of volunteers from our community have taken up the task of mowing.
As part of this ongoing project, we have found and identified several veterans of the Civil War and Spanish War. We are grateful to have the St. Joseph County Department of Veterans Affairs just a few blocks from this cemetery. The office has been generous with donations of military markers for these veterans. We honor their graves not only on patriotic holidays, but throughout the year.
The members of Amos Sturgis Chapter, NSDAR, are honored to be entrusted with this historic cemetery and are dedicated to continue to educate the public, preserve history, and honor those who are buried in The Old Centreville Cemetery. The community is invited to our cemetery work shops and we enthusiastically encourage our youngest citizens to join us.
.