Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
 
Section 4 - Centerville Township - Turner County - South Dakota 

    
 A  view  of  the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery

The Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery is approximately 4 miles to the northwest of Centerville South Dakota.  It has been long abandoned and no families still reside in the area.  At one time it was hoped that a church would be built some day.  There is an equally long abandoned railroad right of way near the cemetery and that may have helped bring folks to the area, but the cemetery is now in the middle of a large soybean / alfalfa field.

The aerial photo below actually has a somewhat fallen down barb wire fence around the dark green region with a gate in the southeast corner next to the alfalfa field.  The wild brome grass, hollyhocks, lilacs, and scrub trees have taken over the cemetery area without any semblance of order.  The ground is very uneven and only a handful of broken grave markers are still laying within the fenced area.  The first burial was apparently Jacob Keller in 1882, followed in 1892 by his wife.

An Aerial View of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery 

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The Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery information database consists of 3 parts.

This information was prepared by Ken Tiahrt in 2010, with the generous assistance of Sherree Schmiedt and may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use.  Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires written approval.

1.  A Cemetery Map

An approximate map of the cemetery showing the cemetery outline gives the user a physical setting.   A specific location for a given burial plot can not be found using this information source, as there is no lot and plot map available.

2.  A List of Burials

A listing of the burials at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery – Section 4 – Centerville Township – Turner County, gives the individual names that are available in 2010.  This listing also gives the date of birth and date of death when available. 

Photos of Grave Monuments
**UPDATE NOTE - October 2018 -- The cemetery list does not contain any tombstone photographs. Thankyou for understanding. Anyone wanting to donate personal tombstone pics is encouraged to do so on the following dedicated site for that purpose: South Dakota Gravestones Project.

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