Bethlehem Cemetery - Ann Arbor

Bethlehem Cemetery is located at 2801 Jackson Road in Ann Arbor.

Washtenaw County DT-29 Historical Marker

The land for this cemetery was deeded in 1833 to Bethlehem Church. The first burial was held in 1883. It is considered to be both the oldest and largest cemetery in the County, containing the graves of many notable German and Greek families. Located by Jackson Road, on the outskirts of Ann Arbor, the cemetery was accessible to farmers in the outlying areas. The original Bethlehem Church shared its land with the cemetery. Stones from the church foundation can still be found on the site.

http://cemetery.innersource.com/group/1841/Plaque

Photos and grave listings

http://usgwarchives.net/mi/tsphoto/washtenaw/bethlehem.htm

In the news

Old West Side Story, Grace Shackman, Ann Arbor Observer, August 2001

Since most of the local Germans were farmers, Schmid's congregation decided to build their church in the country. Daniel Allmendinger donated an acre on a corner of his farm (today part of Bethlehem Cemetery on Jackson Road). Work commenced in November and was finished by the end of December. "A little church in the forest has been erected upon a beautiful hilltop," Schmid reported. "It is thirty-two feet long and twenty-six feet wide, completely of wood, built at a spot which a few years ago was a wilderness where bears and wolves roamed." The first German church in Michigan, it was formally named the "First German Evangelical Society of Scio" but known commonly as Zion Church.