Hillcrest
and St. Francis Cemeteries
With its
booming population in the late 1800's Harrington found itself in a quandary
that many towns have, lack of a cemetery. Just to the south of Harrington
proper you will find Hillcrest cemetery and St. Francis cemetery which are
owned and maintained by the city. The Hillcrest grounds were designated and
purchased as a cemetery in 1898 with the death and burial of Georgia May
Bethel, the 13 year old daughter of Charlie and Belle. Georgia had contracted
diphtheria she was the Bethels only child, they later left their ranch and
built a Spanish style home on first street. Prior to this there had been an
unofficial cemetery outside of town whose inhabitants were later reinterred at
Hillcrest. The St Francis cemetery was originally maintained by the St. Francis
of Assisi Catholic church but with the decline of the town transferred to the
city.
Situated
on a slight hill with ample trees for shade and windbreak it is a very tranquil
resting place. When walking the grounds you see headstones of all shapes, sizes
and material that despite age have been well maintained. With old interspersed with new, as the plots
are situated by family not date, you can follow the rise and decline of the
city of Harrington. The obvious wealth that the wheat fields yield can be seen
when looking at the quality and ornate markers to families and individuals.
Scattered
records shed light on two interesting inhabitants of the cemetery. First we
have Naomi Trumble who at the age of 25 in 1885 was committed to the Medical
Lake Insane Asylum and then again in 1886. She would remain until her death in
1928. We then have poor misguided William Trumble who in 1886 had a Frontier
Justice record for horse theft. Then in 1887 a Department of Corrections
commitment record for....gasp horse stealing he was at this time aged 18. He
died in 1888 we can only guess from what. You will also find the inventor and
maker of the Harrington harvester among the headstones. Charles Erich half of
Dunning and Erich who for 13 years manufactured the harvester before a fire
destroyed their factory including all foundry moulds.
The
cemetery is still an active cemetery. So if you decide to visit be sure to show
proper respect.
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| Trumble family marker. Photo taken by author |
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| Georgia May Bethels two headstones. Photo taken by author. |
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| William Trumbles family marker. Photo taken by author. |
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| Photo taken by author. |
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| Entrance pillar of St. Francis cemetery. Photo taken by author. |
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| Entrance pillar of Hillcrest cemetery. Photo taken by author |
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| Georgia May Bethel. Photo courtesy of Prof. Cebula. |
