Q. Where was Wilmington City Cemetery?

The City Cemetery dates back to around 1847 when it was approved by the town commissioners in a meeting on January 14th. It became a burial for paupers and went from city control to county, since they paid for the pauper funerals. In 1876, it was full and the county had to designate a new pauper burial ground. (Wilmington Star 8-18-1876) It fell to horrible disrepair and residents frequently made requests for the county to remove the burials. (Morning Star, 9-2-1892)

• An article from the Star News dated 4-9-72 shows a photograph of the location of the old cemetery. It states that a house was built there and that the vegetable garden was atop of where the burials had been. It also states that no burials were officially removed. The actual address of the cemetery was around 610 Queen St. and it appears on the Gray’s Map of Wilmington, 1881.