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Riverside Cemetery
Spencer, Clay County, Iowa

GPS: 43.144051, -95.167767

1701 W 4th St.
Spencer, IA 51301

Published: December 21, 2019
Total records: 9,855

Riverside Cemetery is owned and operated by the City of Spencer, IA.

Cemetery History

Riverside Cemetery consists of 46 acres and has been owned by the City of Spencer since it was platted in 1878. It was not the first cemetery in Spencer. The first one was in an area northwest of Spencer, but due to the high water level, the bodies buried there were moved to the present Riverside site.

Records of the burials were destroyed by fire about 1916, so now double records are kept, one at the cemetery office, and the other at City Hall. Many methods were used to replace those records lost in the fire. Relatives and acquaintances were contacted, and visitors came to the cemetery from all over to assist.

The Mausoleum was constructed about 1918, and the heirs of the builders sold it in 1956 to the City of Spencer for $1.00. It consists of a portal, chapel with stained glass windows, corridors, and a family department. A $40,000 bequest in 1980 provided funds to restore the Mausoleum for chapel services. The Franklin Floete family, early lumberyard dealers, have the only private mausoleum at Riverside.

Cemetery Records

Records linked below were acquired from the City of Spencer on December 21, 2019. Dates of death range from 1815 to 2019.

Surname Index:

Downloadable Files

• Riverside Cemetery, Plot Owners by Plot, (1.0 MB)