Commerce Village Burying Ground / Commerce Village Burying Ground

Commerce Township’s first burial ground was laid out on the Bela Armstrong farm (then owned by his widow) in 1834. Most of the burials were relocated here in 1837 when the Baptist Church of Commerce platted the Baptist Burying Ground on this site. Although managed by the Baptists, the cemetery was nondenominational. Among the remains of important Commerce pioneers are: Reuben Wright, the first permanent white settler; Joseph G. Farr and Amasa Andrews who platted the village in 1835; and George C. Hungerford who established a stagecoach route from Pontiac to Milford in 1851. Veterans of major military conflicts including the Civil War, World War I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars are buried here. The Commerce Village Cemetery is an excellent example of a pioneer cemetery and displays a remarkable variety of monuments and headstones. A number of grave markers reflect popular nineteenth century funerary motifs, including willow trees, praying hands, urns, foliage, lambs, grapes, drapery, doves, crosses, and clasped hands. Distinctive White Bronze (zinc) monuments mark the graves of Seymour and Mary McWhorter and John and Mary McGowan. A 1990 survey of plantings revealed twenty-four varieties of trees and shrubs, which add to the park-like setting. Platted by the Baptists in 1837, the cemetery was transferred to the Commerce Township Cemetery Association in 1921. The township took ownership of the property in 1950.