Holcombe Cemetery

LOCATION:

Southwest part of Lake Helen and just west of Lafayette Park. (Gothenburg)

Gothenburg's first graves were those of Frankie Dennett Isaac Holcombe and Mary Adams. A sod school house is believed to have stood on the corner of 20th and Ave F. Funeral services for these three people were held in this school house. Frankie Bennett was born in 1872--died 1880. Isaac Holcombe born 1854--died 1877, Mary Adams born 1806--died 1880. The burial plot was on a small rise just north of the school house.

Later a homesteader plowed over these graves. This upset Mrs Sara Holcombe and she donated a plot on her land to be used for the cemetery. This plot became known as the Holcombe Cemetery. It was located in the area which is the Southwest part of Lake Helen and just west part of Lafayette Park. The three graves were then moved to this plot. Other people in the community used this cemetery for their loved ones also. The Holcombe and Isaac Abercrombe families came from Georgia. The land where Lake Helen is located, as well as the land used for the lake, was homesteaded by Robert Holcombe, Isaac Abercrombe. His Uncle, homesteaded a tree claim north of what is now Lafayette Park and the Rodeo grounds. Mr. Abercrombe was a Civil War veteran and a Confederate soldier. For this reason he was unable to file on more than a tree claim. Mr. Abercrombe and Robert built a house on the Abercrombe land in the spring of 1874. They sent for the rest of their families in the fall of that year. Robert Holcombs Mother, Sara was a widow. Her husband was a Doctor in the Civil War and had been taken prisoner and had died in the prison. The family had traveled to Gothenburg on an immigrant train. The family consisted of Sara, a son Marlin, a daughter Mary, and another son, his wife and a baby. Isaac was twenty three years old when he died, leaving his wife and baby.

The Platte Valley Farm and Cattle Company Investment Co. from the Eastern states came out West to buy up the land North and West of town in 1901. They had plans for making Gothenburg into an industrial city and needed the property for the electrical power system they had planned to build.

The company bought from the Holcombs, the property where the cemetery was located. At that time the cemetery had expanded South and North and had a number of graves. It was necessary to re-locate the cemetery once again.

Holcombe bought land from Wm. Ehmen, which was located 2 miles East of Lafayette Park area for the new cemetery. The 1889 Gothenburg Independent News stated it was a sad day for the descendants, when the graves of their loved ones had to be moved. A town Cemetery Board had been formed prior to this time. They decided the fee for re-locating these graves to the new cemetery would be $25.00. These were hard times for the homesteaders and to many of them this was a large amount of money. Some of the families, who could afford it, moved their loved ones graves to the new site. For the families who could not afford it or families who had since moved on to a new area, the graves were moved to a mass grave. It is believed to have been located on the hillside directly Northeast of the development site. The new cemetery known as the Gothenburg Cemetery holds the graves of Mary Adams, Isaac Abercrombe, Isaac Holcombe and Frankie Bennett. The oldest person buried in Gothenburg was Mary Adams, aunt of the Holcombs and Abercrombes. People did not live to an old age during the period of development of our land. The Holcombe Cemetery was the burial spot for babies and young adults who did not have the privilege to live to see their dreams and hopes for the future come true.

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