PBSCV1599
Gen. James Patton Anderson Camp 1599
Celebrating 32 Years 1992 - 2024
CSA Veterans Buried In Other Palm Beach County
Cemeteries
Willaim T. Raulerson
DELRAY BEACH MEMORIAL GARDENS
The cemetery is located at 700 SW 8th Avenue, Delray Beach, which is at the northwest corner of SW 10th Street and SW 8th Avenue. The City Clerk's office is responsible for plot sale information and maintaining an up-to-date database of cemetery occupants and plot owners. To obtain information, please call (561) 243-7050. Additional information on burial records can also be obtained from the Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County at (561) 832-3279.
Delray Beach Memorial Gardens
A Short History
Written by Marjorie Nelson, Palm Beach
County Genealogical Society, 1998
In 1902, the Ladies Improvement Association of the little town of Linton was given five acres of land by Frederick S. Dewey, agent of Henry M. Flagler's Model Land Company, to be used for a cemetery. A few months later, the Association bought an additional adjoining 2-½ acres and, in September 1903, they incorporated it as Pine Ridge Cemetery. It was located southwest of the settlement between SW Sixth Street on the north, SW Eighth Avenue on the east and SW Seventh Street on the south. Money from the sale of lots was used to maintain the cemetery. A family lot cost $5.00 and a single plot was $1.00.
Linton was incorporated as the town of Delray in 1911. Three years later, the Ladies Improvement Association deeded Pine Ridge Cemetery to the town, which took over the operation and maintenance. Delray grew into a city. From a city council record, circa 1926:
"The beautification of the cemetery being carried out by the city of Delray under the personal supervision of Mr. J. L. Troup is rapidly progressing.
"The City Engineers are now putting in the lot stakes according to the original plat, and although they are finding much difficulty due to the incompletion of the records, and the removal of grave markers, it is expected that all the graves and lots may be relocated without undue difficulty.
"It was noted that a great many of the wooden stakes which have been used in the past to mark the graves have rotted away, and in many instances there is no record either as to the owner or occupant of the grave. A request has been made that all people who own lots, or who have friends or relatives buried in the local cemetery communicate with Mr. Troup and if possible report the exact location of the lot or graves in case the same are not already provided with legible markers. It is also noted that many of the graves are not located on the lots which they are supposed to be, there are many in the streets and out of bound. The city is using every reasonable effort to relocate all graves, and as soon as this is done will re-plat the cemetery, and place the streets in the most convenient and accessible place."
Delray became Delray Beach in 1927 and Pine Ridge Cemetery came to be called Delray Beach Cemetery. Because maintenance by the city was haphazard for a number of years, families had to tend to the upkeep of their own lots. Also, records were incomplete, with the result that many of the earlier burials cannot be located by block and lot number. In 1995, the city greatly expanded the cemetery and changed the name to Delray Beach Memorial Gardens, though the original section is still called Pine Ridge. In addition to the entrances on SW Eighth Avenue, there is now the main entrance on SW Tenth Street. This beautiful cemetery covers 38.7 acres and has a mausoleum.
Pvt Oliver J. McGraw
Boynton Beach Memorial Park and Mausoleum
North Blvd
33435 Boynton Beach, FL
The “Old Section” of Boynton Beach Memorial Park denotes the first official burial site for the citizens of Boynton. The cemetery originally extended further to the east; however, in 1947, plans were made to extend Green Street (Seacrest Boulevard) beyond Woolbright Road, which required 23 feet of the cemetery land. Reports indicate that some graves may have been moved from the cemetery to the Barton Memorial Park Cemetery to make way for the road extension1.
The Old Section of Boynton Beach Memorial Park contains graves associated with the city’s pioneer families. The date of the earliest burial cannot be determined due to a lack of records; however, the earliest legible burial date on a tombstone is 1903. It is believed there are many more graves than there are markers but that markers made from degradable material such as wood have decayed over time.
The cemetery contains an interesting variety of grave markers ranging from small plaques to large tombs and from professionally manufactured markers to folk grave markers. One of the most interesting, a “Woodmen of the World Memorial” marker, is in the shape of a tree.
Many grave markers include symbols relating to the deceased. For example, a lamb signifying innocence can be found on the gravestones of children, and a square and compass indicates the deceased was a Freemason.
Markers in the old section stand upright while the others lie flat on the ground as this helps with maintenance.
The mausoleum at the west side of the cemetery contains a stained glass mural by Conrad Pickel who lived and worked in Boynton. Pickel designed stained glass for churches throughout the country and is credited with designing what is reported to be the largest stained glass window in the world at the Resurrection Mausoleum in Justice, Illinois. He also designed windows for a number of buildings throughout the city and owned several other buildings which he used as workshops and gallery space. One of the most distinctive buildings in the city is the former Gallery Fantasia located at 1000 South Federal Highway. Pickel designed this building to look like a ship and utilized the space to showcase his work. Pickel was also an accomplished painter and sculptor and he designed the statue of a child titled “Loaned from Heaven” which is located in the children’s section of the cemetery.
Capt. Edward Harrison Covar
Riverside Memorial Park
In January 1907, the Jupiter Cemetery Association purchased 4.5 acres on the north fork of the Loxahatchee River, which at the time, was still in Dade County.
Since the only means of reaching the cemetery was the Loxahatchee River, the association built a pier that made it possible to transport the caskets to the cemetery by towboat. County Line Road, as we know it today, was then a sand road called Cemetery Road. In 1925, Martin County was created and the road was renamed.
In 1947, Roy S. Rood became the owner of the cemetery. He enlisted members of the American Legion Post #271 to place shell rock on the sand paths. He maintained the cemetery in this manner until 1973, at which time he purchased another 30 acres of land and created the beginnings of Riverside Memorial Park. He planted the dozens of majestic oak trees that create the canopied roadways and are the signature of the park.
In 1997, Mr. Rood sold the cemetery which is now part of the Dignity Memorial® network of funeral, cremation and cemetery providers. Since its inception, beautiful Riverside Memorial Park has been the resting place of choice for people from all walks of life who call Florida’s northern Palm Beach and southern Martin County home.
