The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-09-15
Minneopa Cemetery Wis
tied Wednesday Night
and TWenty-fOur
Graves Dis
turbed
Zion Church Broken Into
and the Bibles and
Hymnals Taken
and Burned.
An Insane Person Believed to BE Fol-
lowing the Vagaries of His
DisOrdered rIind.

The work Of vandalism committed
in Glenwood cemetery Monday night
was repeated in Minneopa cemetery
Wednesday night and the work was
carried to even a more revolving ex-
tent. Besides the destruction OF grave
stones, bibles and hymnals were stol-
en- from church, piled against
beautiful monument and burned.
Minneopa cemetery is situated four
miles southeast of the city on the hill
across the railroad track from Mime
opa Falls, and is indeed most beau
tiful spot. A panorama of woodland
farms and hills extends to the west
ward and northward for many miles,
while the view in the opposite dlrec-
tion is rugged and romatic in the eX-
IRENE. A pleasanter place for the re-
pose of ones earthly remains it would
be hard to find. The neighborhood is
largely composed of reverentlal and
lawabiding Welsh-Americans, and
nearly every family has some friend
or relative sleeping beneath the
sod in Minneopa cemetery. Many OF
the monuments are costly and hand
some, and the cemetery will compare
favorably with any of It's size.
A FREE PRES reporter visited the
cemetery this forenoon to investigate
the rumors as to it's dissertation, and
found the reports to be too true. The
goalish prowler had evidently enter
ed by the front steps and had COM
menced his work almost Immediately,
turning his attention touthe avenue
at the right and following it to the
end, across the length of the ceme-
terry. From this avenue he had in
the center of the cemetery diTerged
to the right and left. The finest
monuments, with one exception, re-
NAMED untouched, but still many
handsome ones were Overthrown and
broken. Probably the costliest of the
mOnumentstwaS almost utterly ruin
ed by fire and force. There was no
appearance anywhere of the use Of
hammers or crowbarS, and the mOnu-
ments seem to have been simply
forced over and if not broken by their
fall then jumped upon or broken in
some other way. There was appar-
antly no discrimination used in pick
ing out the graves, and the poorest
stone was not too insignificant or the
handsomest too costly for destruction.
Zion church, which is two and a
quarter miles west of the cemetery,
was broken into during othe same
night, and the pulpit bible, pulpit
hymnal and the other hYmnals were
stolen, carried to the cemetery, and
evidently burned IN bonfire against
the monument of David Dackins and
family, at the fartherest end of the
cemetery, near piece of woods.
Among the partially burned fagOts
were found the remains of several Of
the books, including portion Of the
pulpit hymnal,a book elegantly bound
IN leaGner anu SllU.
The stones over the graves of the
following persons were injured:
AS stated before, the greatest injury
was done to the monument over the
graves of David Dackins, Elizabeth
Dackins, Geo. A. Dackins. and David
D. Dackins. Upon a large, square
granite pedestal kneeled the marble
figure of female, bearing in one
hand a chaplet of flowers. Above and
back of this was marble cross. This
was broken off and lay with the frag-
ments of a footstone. The fire Lad
been built against the granite base
on the side toward which the marble
figure faced. The heat cracked the
face of the stone in several places, land
Clipped off large piece, and the fire
diScolored the stone. The marble
figure was blackened and discolored
by the smoke and heat. The monu.
ment is almost total ruin.
VIM. Price, headstone broken in
two pieces and removed.
SarahJoues, headstone tipped over
but uninjured.
Nettie Jones, shaft tipped over and
ornamental top broken off.
John J. Jones, headstone toppleo
over and broken into three pieces.
Thos. j. Jones, headstone toppleo
over and broken into three pieces.
Mary Thomas, top Of monument
broken off.
Edward Thomas, headstone thrown
down, hut uniDjured.
Chas. Thomas, headstone thrown
down and top broken off.
Margaret Edwards, headstone tip
ped over and broken.
Mary Williams, headstone tipped