Pentwater Township Cemetery

The Pentwater Township Cemetery was founded in November 1860 when Jacob Brillhart’s young son died. He instructed John Bean Jr., Henry Flagg and Timothy Barber to select a block of land for a cemetery, outside the Village limits at the time, with the promise to deed the land to the town. His son, Willie, was the first burial at the cemetery, which is the block in the Village bounded by 1st, 2nd, Rush, and Rutledge Streets currently occupied by the First Baptist Church.

This location served as the Township Cemetery until 1870, when 40 acres of land was purchased for $5 per acre from the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad for a new cemetery. In the fall of that year the southwest portion of the parcel was laid out for burials and use of the original cemetery was discontinued. By 1879 many of the remains had been moved by families to the present cemetery site. The Township then received permission from the State to move the remaining bodies to the new site.

In December of 1879, E.H. Hutson was contracted to move the last 70 bodies to the new cemetery for a fee of $194 upon completion. These 70 bodies were moved to the northwest corner of Block 2 in the cemetery. At some unknown time the eastern portion of the original 40 acre parcel set aside for the Township Cemetery was sold. The present cemetery contains some 20 acres of land.

In early 1992 the development of Blocks 16 and 17 was initiated, followed by the development of Blocks 18 & 19. A columbarium, containing 48 niches, for the interment of cremains was added in 1998 as well as a maintenance building. Other upgrades included improvements to the entrance including a clock, installation of irrigation systems in Blocks 17, 18, and 19 and the purchase of a small privately owned parcel between the entrance area and Blocks 3 and 7.

In 2012, Blocks 20 through 25 were developed adding over 600 new sites to the Cemetery. Blocks 21, 23, and 25 are specifically dedicated to the burial of cremains, while the lots in Blocks 20 and 24 contain traditional burial plots. All of these areas had underground irrigation systems installed as well. Also, in 2012, the columbarium was expanded to include an additional 96 niches.

The Pentwater Township Board continually strives to make our beautiful, peaceful cemetery a place that the Pentwater Community can be proud of, now and in the future, as well as preserving its rich history.