Mount Calvary Cemetery is one of the two main cemeteries for Catholics in the Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....

 area. The cemetery is located at 1111 Davis St, Dubuque, Iowa. It is in the northern part of the city. The cemetery is located near two other cemeteries - St. John's Cemetery

St. John's Cemetery (Dubuque)

St. John's Cemetery is a cemetery located in Dubuque, Iowa.-History:Five acres of ground were purchased from Herman Bruening for burial purposes by the St. Johannes Cemetery Association. The Articles of Incorporation for the cemetery association were filed for the Dubuque Evangelical Lutheran St....

, and Linwood Cemetery

Linwood Cemetery (Dubuque)

Linwood Cemetery is located in Dubuque, Iowa. It is located on Windsor Avenue in the north end of Dubuque.The cemetery is one of the main cemeteries in Dubuque. Originally established for the Protestants of the city, the cemetery now serves members of all faiths...

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The cemetery offers regular burial and mausoleum entombment. It also has lawn crypts. Mt. Calvary has an area set aside for the burial of cremated

Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....

 remains, and also maintains columbarium niches in its original chapel space.

History

On July 19, 1861 William Rumpf and Herman Bruening sold 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of land to the Dubuque Diocese in order to establish a cemetery for German immigrants. For the next three years this cemetery served the members of Holy Trinity (now St. Mary's) Church

Saint Mary's Catholic Church (Dubuque)

Saint Mary's Catholic Church is a former parish of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The church is located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States, at the corner of 15th and White Streets. The church is recognizable by its steeple– one of the tallest in the area....

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In 1864, in response to the increasing size of the German community in Dubuque, the present St. Mary's Church was constructed. The cemetery was then called St. Mary's Cemetery. It mainly served the parishioners of St. Mary's Church as well as other German Catholics living in the area. The pastor of St. Mary's also directed the operation of the cemetery. After the population explosion of the late 19th century, St. Mary's was eventually divided into several other parishes (Sacred Heart, the second Holy Trinity, Holy Ghost, and Nativity) to handle the increased population. The cemetery then became the primary burial location for the members of these new parishes as well.

In 1902 the cemetery changed its name to Mount Calvary Cemetery. The Calvary Cemetery Association was incorporated at this time to oversee the cemetery. Dubuque Archbishop John Keane gave the Association a warranty deed

Warranty deed

A general warranty deed is a type of deed where the grantor guarantees that he or she holds clear title to a piece of real estate and has a right to sell it to the grantee . The guarantee is not limited to the time the grantor owned the property—it extends back to the property's origins. A General...

to the property on April 5, 1902. Over time the Association has purchased surrounding lands - which resulted in the cemetery growing in size to over 40 acres (16.2 ha).

In the 1960s, the Regina Caeli chapel and the Resurrection Garden mausoleum were built near the cemetery entrance. The old chapel, which is situated near the center of the cemetery, was eventually converted into a space to hold columbarium niches.