The Ames Municipal Cemetery sits on the edge of the rolling hills of east Ames overlooking the Skunk River Valley. The cemetery (formerly the Ames Cemetery) was originally designed in 1878 by landscape architect A.N. Carpenter, of Galesburg, Illinois. The cemetery historically stood quite a distance from residential and business districts, as it was customary at the time to place cemeteries - places of quiet refuge - away from the hustle of the city. As the City of Ames grew, the border of the cemetery land joined with the city, and it is now easily accessible from connecting city side streets. The cemetery remained outside the City limits, privately managed by the Ames Cemetery Association, until 1917, when the City purchased the property for $500 per acre and included it within the incorporation line. Additional cemetery land was purchased over the years, with the last purchase in 1929, bringing the total size of the Ames Municipal Cemetery to its current 54 acres.
Wapsi Valley Archeology Report #692
Historic Resources Evaluation: Ames Municipal Cemetery
Prepared for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
By Kristy J. Medanic, Principal Investigator/Architectural Historian
and Abby Glanville, Project Architectural Historian