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Cemetery Manager

Linda R. Davis
(704) 638-5250
ldavi@salisburync.gov

About Old Lutheran Cemetery

Established in 1768 by John Lewis Beard. It is located at 515 N. Lee Street, consists of 2.75 acres and is closed for burials/historic.

John Lewis Beard had his daughter buried on his home property around 1755 because there were no public burying grounds at that time. In order to protect her resting place for years to come, he deeded a tract of land to the German Lutheran Church for the purpose of establishing a church and graveyard. His daughter’s body was moved to the cemetery, thus becoming the first cemetery in Salisbury. A little frame church was erected shortly after 1768 near the grave of Beard’s daughter and soon other graves appeared. There are Revolutionary and Confederate soldiers buried there along with many leading families of Rowan: Beard, Henderson, Caldwell, Brown, Murphy, Hamilton, Fisher, Locke, Boyden, Chambers, Troy and numerous others. St. John’s Lutheran Church deeded the property to the City in 1980.

The Confederate statue “FAME” that had stood in a median at the corner of W. Innes and Church Streets in Salisbury for more than 100 years was moved to its permanent home in the Old Lutheran Cemetery in July 2021. She is surrounded by an iron fence and overlooks the graves of the soldiers for which she was originally created.


Famous Internment:

Boyden, Nathaniel

b. August 16, 1796 d. November 20, 1873

U.S. Congressman. Taking the call at the advent of the War of 1812, he enlisted at age 16 and served as a Private in the US Army. After the war, he graduated from Union College, New York, in 1821, moved to North Carolina, in 1822, taught school for several years, studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Stokes County. He was a member of the North Carolina State House of Commons, (1838-40) and served in the North Carolina State Senate in 1844. In 1847, he was elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth Congress, serving until 1849. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he resumed the practice of law and was a member of the North Carolina State constitutional convention of 1865. Upon the readmission of North Carolina to the Union for representation, he was elected as a Conservative to the Fortieth Congress, serving (1868-69). After his term, he was elected associate justice of the supreme court of North Carolina in 1872 and served until his death at age 77.

Cemetery Policies

FOR CITY OWNED CEMETERIES

CHESTNUT HILL, OAKWOOD, MEMORIAL PARK, OLD LUTHERAN, UNION HILL/OAKDALE, OLD ENGLISH AND DIXONVILLE CEMETERIES

The City of Salisbury Cemetery Division reserves the right to regulate the method of decorating graves so that a safe and historical uniform beauty may be maintained.

  • Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. They will remain there for approximately one week, at which time the Cemetery staff will remove and discard them. If the family wants to keep any of the grave arrangements, they should be removed before that one week is up.
  • The City cemeteries do not require a vault being used in burials. Please be aware that if a vault is not used that the ground will settle which means if you have a marker installed on the grave, most likely the concrete border around your marker will eventually crack and the marker may also start sinking. If a vault is used, there is still the possibility of the concrete border cracking due to swelling & shrinking of the stone due to hot or cold. This is not due to the Cemetery staff running over your marker or hitting your marker while mowing. The City shall not be held responsible for cracked borders or sinking markers.
  • The City of Salisbury is not responsible for any floral or tributes placed on a grave plot. If missing or stolen, you may file a police report by calling the Salisbury Police Department at (704) 638-5333.
  • PROHIBITED GRAVE ITEMS: Nothing is allowed outside of your marker. Fencing outlining of graves is not allowed, fabric printed pictures that cover the grave are not allowed, solar lights are not allowed, glass, metal or wood products, rocks, toys, life-size decorations, Christmas lights or any other potential projectiles are not permitted on cemetery plots at any time. Anything that could potentially kill the grass on the plot is also not allowed. The Management reserves the right to remove any items that do not conform to these limitations. This is for the safety of our crews since lawn mowers and weed eaters may come into contact with items placed on graves. If so placed and damage does occur, the City shall not be held responsible.
  • All floral arrangements must be in a permanent vase, on a saddle or in a hard plastic cone vase that sticks into the ground. If placed otherwise, and your flowers are damaged due to contact with our equipment, the City shall not be held responsible.
  • An "Annual Cemetery Cleanup/Flower Removal" is performed once a year most likely in February. You can call the Cemetery office at (704) 638-5250 to find out the definite date. Large blue signs will be erected in each cemetery about 2 months prior to the cleanup. During cleanup week, any items located on graves including flowers, solar lights or decorations will be removed and discarded. If you wish to retain any items, please remove them before clean up week. After the cleanup is completed, you can place your items back on your plot.
  • The City maintains 7 cemeteries and takes pride in keeping them looking neat. The mowing schedule allows each cemetery to be mowed every 10-14 days which is usually sufficient for each cemetery to look good until we get back to it. Please bear with us at times as rain and the crew having to stop to open and close graves plays a major role in keeping the schedule on time.

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