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Address: 2925 Cedar Avenue
Neighborhood: East Phillips
Construction Date: 1853
Architect: Undetermined
Architectural Style: Undetermined
Historic Use: Religious - Cemetery
Current Use: Religious - Cemetery
Date of Local Designation: 2006
Date of National Register Designation: 2002
Area(s) of Significance: Social history; significant persons and groups
Period of Significance: 1853-1942
Historic Profile: Layman’s Cemetery, or Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery as it is more commonly known, occupies a 27-acre site in south Minneapolis. Founded in 1853 on land adjacent to the farmstead of Martin Layman, it is the oldest surviving cemetery in Minneapolis. The cemetery is the sole surviving churchyard-style frontier cemetery in the city, as characterized by closely spaced graves arranged in a generally rectilinear pattern, and it is the final resting place of nearly 20,000 pioneers, veterans and immigrants. It contains the graves of some of the first settlers of the city, many of whom made major contributions to local history; soldiers and veterans of the War of 1812, the Dakota Conflict, the Civil War, the Mexican American War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I; mid to late nineteenth century European immigrants, early African American citizens and transposed abolitionists. Notable individuals buried in the cemetery include Philander Prescott, Charles W. Christmas, and William Goodridge. In 1925, a group began to organize to save Layman’s Cemetery for its historical importance. The group’s effort is recognized as early, local attempt at historic preservation.
Photo Credits:
1936, A.F. Raymond, courtesy of The Minnesota Historical Society
2006, Minneapolis CPED
Works Cited:
"City of Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission Registration Form," 2005.
Updated: February 2007