The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The expansion will allow burials to continue for many more years.
This master-plan shows planned upgrades to the Moorcroft Cemetery including much of the added acreage. Following the main roadway from the entrance, the former acreage consisted of the first seven blocks immediately adjacent on either side of the road. The outlying blocks are the newly acquired property; not pictured is an added area from the furthest point north to the furthest point east.
People have been laid to rest in the Moorcroft Cemetery since 1904 with the burial of Diamond Joe Thompson. With ever-increasing numbers of family and friends taking their places within this ten-acre allotment since then, the available plots are getting limited.
Many of the remaining parcels are already purchased. As Clerk/Treasurer Cheryl Schneider said, "There are some left, but most are sold."
Mayor Ben Glenn and council have mitigated the inevitable problem of overcrowding and closing with an exchange of land with the Robinson Ranch Family Limited Partnership, whose members own the pasture land to the north, east and south of the grave yard.
According to the mayor, HDR holds the detailed schematics for the allotment and this has been part of the master plan since 2010, "We've always intended to make the cemetery larger."
Schneider noted, too, that the council has worked on the enlargement and enhancement of the Moorcroft Cemetery for several years.
The town has owned approximately 13 acres west of State Highway 14 near Bountiful Subdivision for a number of years and, with many months of consideration and legal diligence, offered this undeveloped property for an equivalent acreage surrounding the existing east perimeter fence. The offer was accepted.
Thinking of future needs as depicted on the master-plan, Glenn added, "There will be a utility easement through the Robinson Family Limited to access the back side of the cemetery for the towns utilizes."
According to the mayor, this contiguous acreage will almost triple the size of the cemetery and alleviate the need to create another cemetery.
"I've always hated seeing three cemeteries in a town," he said.
This addition keeps the cemetery open many more years for residents who want to remain in the area.
Interested parties are welcome to examine the cemetery master-plan in person at Town Hall.
