Saving Graves
"Working together to preserve and protect endangered cemeteries"

Date: 21 June 2000

Cemetery Name: Potter Cemetery
Street: Near Swan Creek Rd. & Labo Rd
City: Ash Township
County: Monroe County
State: Michigan
Nation: USA
Zip: 48117
Land Type: Private
Status: Abandoned
Number of graves: 200
Oldest grave: April 1847
Records: Don't Know
Inventory: Yes
Owner: None

Problem's
Overgrown-trees
Overgrown-ground cover
Overgrown-vines
Broken Headstones
Buried Headstones
Disintegrating Headstones
Fallen Headstones
Removed Headstones
General Neglect
Vandalism

Location

Friends of the Potter Cemetery Sue Donovan 30066 Marr Gibralter, Mi. 48173

Description

It is 1.056 acres, on a sandy soil for good drainage. It is landlocked and had been abandoned and neglected for about 60 years.  

Other Problems

There is no public access to Potter Cemetery. It is landlocked, surrounded by private property and worked farmland. Access had been allowed to members of Friends of Potter Cemetery Association on a once a month basis from May 1999-August 2000. Access was closed in September 2000.

Previous Contacts

The people who own the property adjacent to it, the township authorities, and one of the County Commissioners.

Current Status

The "Friends" are a small group who had been making reasonably good progress to clean up the cemetery. Since the access was closed no physical work has been done in the cemetery. However, on Feb. 28, 2001 eight members of "Friends" were appointed by the court as Trustees of the Potter Cemetery Trust and now essentially own the cemetery. Negotiations between the group and property owners have been unsuccessful. The cemetery remains landlocked and once again is being overtaken by trees, animals, etc. New options to restore, maintain and preserve the cemetery are being looked at.

Additional Information:

Friends of the Potter Cemetery Association Website

Submitted by:

name: Robert H. Boudrie
Email: mrbobbou@aol.com

Updated by:

name: Sue Donovan
Email:

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Please be aware that in publishing an Endangered Cemetery Report, Saving Graves in no way accepts responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained within that  report, and takes no position of either agreeing or disagreeing with the information presented within the report.   The information is presented as the personal opinion of the report submitter only.  The naming of a cemetery as "Endangered" may not necessarily reflect the overall or general conditions of a specific cemetery as presented in an Endangered Cemetery Report. Saving Graves recognizes that because the information presented within a specific Endangered Cemetery Report is only a personal  opinion, there may likely be dissenting opinions presented. In such cases, Saving Graves will (with the permission of the person submitting said differing opinion) take steps to add that opinion to the specific Endangered Cemetery Report in the form of an update, and encourages all readers and submitters to consider all points of view presented.