De Pere Greenwood Cemetery is facing an erosion crisis June 12, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
LEDGEVIEW, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The De Pere Greenwood Cemetery sits on the banks of the Fox River, just south of the City of De Pere. Founded in 1859, it’s the oldest cemetery in Brown County and the final resting place for many well-known people and families from the area.
According to Jewels Sowers, President of the De Pere Greenwood Cemetery Association, “Everyone here has a story to tell. Even Syble Hopp is buried here. The Lawtons are buried here. Wells Foundry is buried here. We have school teachers, superintendents of East De Pere and the high school and of West De Pere. Walks of all faiths are all here.”
Unlike other cemeteries, that may be owned by a church or a community, De Pere Greenwood isn’t owned by anyone. Those buried there are the landowners of their individual plots.
“Most cemeteries you have the right to be buried there, but you do not own this. I kind of humorously say it’s the least expensive riverfront property in the area,” says Sorrows.
Over the years, the riverfront property has become a bit of a problem. For decades, rain runoff has caused issues from the top of the hill — and the river has deteriorated the soil from below.
Sowers says, “But it’s been in the last 15 years or so that the mass of erosion has really happened on the shoreline.”
That erosion has led to part of the hill falling into the river, leaving some vaults on the hillside of the cemetery exposed.
“We are losing hillside and shoreline in massive amounts. The upper corners have dropped this year about three feet, just straight down,” says Sowers.
Temporary fill has been used to help cover up some of the exposed vaults, but it’s not a permanent fix for the more than 1100 feet of shoreline.
Sowers warns, “It will become an abandoned cemetery falling into the river and that just shouldn’t happen to this beautiful, historical cemetery.”
The De Pere Greenwood Cemetery Association, which manages the cemetery, had an engineering study done on the property. The engineers determined the riverbank needs to be stabilized, invasive species need to be brought under control, and woodland restoration and maintenance needs to take place.
All that work, which would be a permanent fix and ensure the integrity of the hillside, comes with a $2.5 million price tag. And since no one person or entity owns the cemetery, the cemetery association is looking to the community to help pay for it.
Sowers adds, “It’s getting the word out. That’s the biggest thing, getting the word out and people to realize how important this cemetery is to the community and how historical it is and how the erosion problem is such a problem to this river.”
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