The cemetery was recorded (by walking the rows) on April 1, 2009 by Von Mings Stachon (vonstac@comcast.net) and Stuart Whannel.

BAKER'S GROVE CEMETERY HISTORY

Perry Township, Tama County, Iowa; (42.755 N; 92.3051 W)

2138 N Avenue, Traer, Iowa

A man named Baker came to Traer in 1854 and claimed the southeast quarter of section 30 on which was a small grove.  He sold out in 1855 to L. B. Collins.  This neighborhood has always been called Baker's Grove.  In 1860 a one-acre site was platted out as a cemetery and the plots were 8x16 ft.  The first burial was that of the son of  John Collins.

L. B. Collins lived in this area until 1865 when he moved to Nebraska with his wife and two daughters. They later had a son, C. C. Collins who  became Mayor of Traer.

Another prominent resident  of the Perry township was Allan S. Fowler, b. 19 Sep 1819, native of Shelby Co, KY.  He came from Indiana in 1855.  He married Belinda Collins of Washington Co, Indiana.  She was born 10 Aug 1827 and married Mr. Fowler on 9 March 1843.  They moved into a dirt and log home in Baker's Grove.  In 1856 he built a lumber house but it was destroyed by fire in 1875.  He immediately began rebuilding.

Another resident of Perry township who is buried in Baker's Grove is William Loder.  He was born in Berkshire, England in 1802.  He married Elizabeth Tame on 20 May 1825.  She was born 6 February 1838 in Rushford, NY and died on 5 Oct 1852.  They had eight children.

James Logan is buried here as well.  He was born in 1826 in Lanarkshire, Scotland and married Miss Jane Maxwell who also was a native of Lanarkshire .  They had 14 children.

This is a Pioneer Cemetery and although the grass has been recently mowed, there are signs that stones have been removed.  The base is still there for one stone, but the upright marker is not there.  There are pieces of markers that have been raked up into a pile in the center of the cemetery under a large tree. The ground is sunken in places , but there are no markers.