St. Clement Cemetery

St. Clement Catholic Church served as the center of community life for the Belgian, German, Polish, French, and Irish Catholics who settled at Kunrod’s Corner during the mid-nineteenth century. This cemetery originated as the parish’s burying ground, where primarily church members were interred. The earliest known burial dates from March 27, 1854. More than 800 graves date from the nineteenth century. The inscriptions on the grave markers not only confirm Center Line’s diverse ethnic origins, they reflect the names of some of Macomb County’s earliest settlers and most notable families. Members of the Groesbeck and Schoenherr families are buried here, as are Joseph Buechel, who built the first general store, and Hieronymus Englemann, Center Line’s first postmaster.