Did You Ever Notice This “No-Name” Cemetery on M-50 in Jackson County?
I have been traveling on M-50 for many decades between Jackson and Napoleon, and have become very familiar with all the old sights and changes that have taken place over the years.
1) There’s a Dollar General at the junction of South Street and M-50 that wasn’t there a few years ago
2) Denny’s Lounge just before you get into Napoleon no longer exists
3) Swank Motel is now ‘Golfview Extended Stay Studios’
4) 'Chocolate Moose' at the Junction of M-50 and Clark Lake Road is now ‘Stoyanna’s Ice Cream’
5) Fisher’s Trailer Park at Miles Road is now two rows of empty lots ...and there are a good many other changes.
One thing that has remained constant is Roseland Cemetery, also known under its official name, Roseland Memorial Gardens, where there are no headstones – just flat stone slabs in the ground (makes it easier for mowing). Just about a half mile east of Roseland is another cemetery: small, unassuming, with actual headstones and no sign to tell us its name. Well, now you will know.
This tiny cemetery with the few graves is the Eldred Cemetery, named after a community that once existed in the area.
Eldred was originally a railway station that began operating in 1878 along the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad that went through Napoleon Township. The railroad has been long torn up and the trail is hidden within the trees. The actual location of “Eldred Station” is where Stroyanna’s Ice Cream is currently standing, at the junction of Eldred Drive (north), Clark Lake Road (south), and M-50 (Brooklyn Road). A post office began operating in Eldred in 1889, lasting until 1902. As for the name of the community, it is believed to have been an homage to Andrew Eldred, a Michigan Congressman.
The Eldred Cemetery is just west, less than a mile down Brooklyn Road (M-50) on the north side of the road, in Section 19 of Napoleon Township, Jackson County. Eldred is listed as a private cemetery and the last burial that took place was in 1929.
See the photos below.
Eldred Cemetery, Jackson County
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