For almost 160 years the historic De Pere Greenwood Cemetery has held the history of generations of families who founded our city and surrounding communities, veterans who honored our country, to those presently who rest amongst the historic oak and hickory trees on the peaceful bank of the beautiful Fox River.

It was on September 29, 1859, when a group of twelve local men gathered to organize the De Pere Greenwood Cemetery Association. These men were Reverend Lemuel C. Spofford, David M. Loy, Theophilus C. Morgan, John F. Lessey, Thomas Jackson, Robert Mailer, William Armstrong, William Gow, Andrew Mailer, Robert Jackson, Reuben Field and Francis E. White. They came from many walks of life; from minister to state senator to blacksmith, and from many different parts of the country and the world.

There seems to be a common thread that many were members of the First Presbyterian Church in De Pere. The cemeteries at that time were owned by the Catholic Churches or were family cemeteries on family property. They saw a need to have a cemetery that was ecumenically open to all as a final resting place, as there wasn’t any in De Pere.

Our historical committee is compiling and researching each and every member buried here. If you have stories and information on family, friends, etc., please encourage your parents, grandparents, and relatives to share before the memories are gone forever. And then please pass on to us to enrich this site of information for future generations.

Contact us directly here if you have historical information you would like to share.