Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

In late 1873, the young frontier town of Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory, population 150, established its first cemetery organization, Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Initially, twenty acres of land were purchased at a location east of town presumed to be far enough away so that it would not obstruct town growth. To defray the cost of the land, thirty-two people purchased the first plots for $10 each.

Prior to the establishment of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, burials were in the Fort Dakota military cemetery and in Sioux Falls City plots on the high bluff west of the town. This land came to be seen as better suited for building fine homes overlooking the town than for burials. Therefore, in 1880 the remains from these burials were moved to the Mount Pleasant and Fort Randall cemeteries. 

Over the years, several substantial and timely gifts provided needed improvements and helped to develop the cemetery. Inez Van Eps, wife of pioneer merchant, gave the Sioux quartzite gateposts at the entrance, and fifteen acres of land on the west side, which became known as Sunset Slope. Josephine Glidden, in honor of her deceased husband a prominent business and civic leader, left a bequest of $13,000 to build a chapel and receiving vault. In 1924, the Glidden Memorial Chapel, built of quartzite, the hard pink stone that underlies the city, was constructed near the cemetery entrance.

The first funeral in the new chapel was that of Dennis McKinney, a pioneer banker and a family friend of the Gliddens, who had supervised the chapel’s construction. Because of a very cold, harsh winter, McKinney’s body was kept in the crypt of the chapel until spring when the frozen earth of the cemetery finally yielded to the shovel. During an especially long, severe winter in the 1930s, more than twenty-five bodies were held in the crypt.

More recent gifts include funds given by Raleigh and Minnie Nelson in 1990 for the Nelson Memorial Office and Maintenance Building and various organizations donated a monument honoring war veterans in 1995.

Mount Pleasant Cemetery holds much of Sioux Falls’ history. Those interred include people from every walk of life including founders of the town, local legends, five volunteer firefighters of the Cascade Hook and Ladder Company, children from the South Dakota Children’s Home, victims of accidents and calamities occurring during the tumultuous years of Dakota Territory and over 700 veterans of all wars, including more than 180 Civil War veterans. Grave markers range from simple wooden tablets and native boulders to monuments costing thousands of dollars. The oldest marker, which was moved from the Sioux Falls City cemetery, is that of William Stevens, dated November 16, 1869. Much of early Sioux Falls lies at rest in tranquil Mount Pleasant Cemetery.