Loyal Cemeteries
---------Source: LOYAL CENTENNIAL BOOK (Loyal, Clark County, Wis.) - 1970
When his sister Phoebe died, Henry Sitts chose a pine shaded hill on his property and donated an acre of land to be the first public cemetery in this area. Phoebe was the first wife of William Hill, his close friend, neighbor and fellow homesteader. She was 35 years old, and hers is the oldest grave in the Pine Grove Cemetery. Located 1 mile east and 1 mile north of Loyal, it contains the graves of many old settlers of the community.
On Oct. 4, 1925, a plaque was dedicated to Samuel Hartford, whose grave is just inside the wrought iron gates. He is a veteran of the War of 1812, and is memorialized because as a boy of fourteen he enlisted in place of his brother, who had a wife and seven children.
The first public cemetery in the village of Loyal was established in the early 1870's. The majority of the first graves were those of children, mute testimony to the hardships of the times and the scarcity of medical care when diphtheria and smallpox were epidemic. It is now the principle cemetery for the city and surrounding area, and on Memorial Day is the site of a yearly gathering of city and school officials and friends to remember those who died, especially the veterans, whose graves are carefully marked with flags. At the program is a mini-ceremony unique to our city. The G. A. R. flag, dating from the Civil War and the gatherings of the Civil War veterans is presented to the president of the junior class by the president of the senior class. Entrusted to them for safe-keeping when the ranks of the old veterans grew thin, it is a poignant reminder of those who gave their lives in the service of their country.
The original St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery was near the old log church, which was at the site of the present Schlinsog Cheese Factory, 1-mile east and 2 miles south of Loyal. When St. Balthasar's Church in the village was built, the graves were moved to the present cemetery 1-mile north of Loyal. The first recorded burial was that of Susan Domine in 1892, followed in 1893 and 1894 by Phillip and William Vogel.
The cemetery of the first Lutheran Church is 1 1/4 miles north of Loyal. It was bought in 1883 and was in conjunction with the church. Now it is all that remains at the site.