In 1854, eleven year old Josephine Reed died, it is said, of typhoid fever. Her untimely death was the first recorded in Rock Grove Township. Her parents, Benjamin and Ann Reed, had migrated from Wisconsin in a covered wagon and were living temporarily in a log cabin belonging to Edson Gaylord. It was in the Gaylord garden that they laid their daughter to rest. Josephine’s coffin was made of table leaves by James Griffith, and it was lined with what finery the Reed’s had brought with them from Wisconsin.

The next spring, Benjamin Reed purchased the north portion of what is now the Jim Treloar farm and Josephine was reburied on a hill southeast of the Reed’s new cabin. Others who came to homestead did so north and east of Reed’s cabin, and they, too, used the burying ground that was known as Reed’s Cemetery.

In 1863 Benjamin sold 1.33 acres of that land to the trustees of a cemetery association for $1.00. The name Reed’s Cemetery now became Spring Grove Cemetery. A tool house was built and the cemetery was fenced in, the front with wrought iron fencing and an elaborate arched gate. A pump and small cistern was also installed.

The original wrought iron fence and ornate gate are still standing as nostalgic reminders of a little girl, buried there years ago.

Note:
Thank you to Mrs. Jim Treloar for sharing this story.
The cemetery was maintained for many years by Jim Treloar, a descendant of the Reed's.