Dover Museum’s Sunday presents Burge Cemetery Update

Jesse Howard, President of the Burge Cemetery Board of Directors, presented an interesting program on changes occurring at the cemetery. It has been a bit over a year since a tornado cut a destructive path through a major portion of the grounds. An alternative title to his presentation could very well have been “A Blessing in Disguise!”

Burge is the second largest cemetery in Henry County. Its name comes from Jacob and Rachel Burge who donated the land for the cemetery as a memorial to their family. The first burial was in 1843. Burge Cemetery covers 20 acres, contains nearly 3,300 graves which trace many family histories in the area.

One of the favorite legends told about the settlement of Dover/New London relates to the Burge family. As part of the westward movement, Jacob and Rachel were traveling from Ohio. When Jacob began to hitch up the wagon to continue their journey, Rachel reportedly sat on the tongue saying, “This is a far as I am going!” They then settled in the are becoming an important part of the community. The land was donated by the Burges as a memorial to their family.

As Jesse begins his tale, he explains that he was originally asked to become involved on the Board by Chuck Noel. Younger “blood” was needed as cremation and inurnment became more common. His role grew gradually until the tornado. Suddenly he needed a tremendous amount of knowledge and help. Humorously describing the lack of a how to manage a cemetery manual, Jesse gave credit to the many resources provided by monument providers, other cemetery board members and a nationwide network of donors with connections to the cemetery.

As Jesse arrived at the cemetery shortly after the sirens blew all clear, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky. This significant omen gave all who observed it the assurance that all would be well. As news of the damage along the 42 mile trail came in, the news of no deaths or serious injury cemented the feeling and recovery work began in earnest.

Many of the cemeteries in Henry County are supported with tax money. This is not true of Burge. As a memorial cemetery, it is controlled by its bylaws and rules set up by the donors. All cemeteries are notoriously underfunded and under insured. The major expense of summer mowing and trimming always stretched the budget. Many times board members filled in to keep everything beautiful.

It was interesting to learn that families are responsible for the headstones and their maintenance. If a family knew enough to get insurance of the monuments, the only generations covered were the current family, one generation back and one generation forward. At Burge, families have relatives buried before Iowa statehood. There is no real way to estimate the number of stones whose families are no longer in the area or have surviving members.

As Jesse became aware of these issues, he began to address each one. His family even helped him. His daughter introduced him to Find a Grave. As he works, he adds the information to the database. It is estimated that 45% of the memorials are now GPS located. When he can, volunteers join him in the older sections of the cemetery and help with the restoration of fallen stones. Many of the stones still standing need cleaning. Jesse has added that task to list as well.

One tends to focus on the damage and repairs caused by the tornado. The cemetery lost its maintenance building, its tractor, many trees, and its flagpole in addition to monument damage. The cemetery is moving forward on many fronts. The long-planned Veterans Memorial and new roads to make more plots accessible for use have been completed. Planning for the future is ongoing.

Jesse kept an eye on the clock as he explained everything. His PowerPoint slides certainly helped. His talk was also taped. Perhaps it will be available soon. For a partial list of all who helped from Day 0 of the tornado until the present is available from SEIU, New London Journal, “Burge Cemetery’s New Beginning” By Gina Anderson, Sept. 10, 2024 12:07 a.m. and SEIU, Mt. Pleasant “Community Rebuilds Burge Cemetery one year after tornado devastation” AnnaMarie Kruse, Apr. 23, 2025 2:26 p.m., Updated: Apr. 28, 2025 4:05 p.m.