Welcome to Cowley County

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Since taking over this website I have logged hundreds of miles on my vehicle and and spent many $$$ on film taking pictures of Cowley Co. cemeteries and tombstones.Which is for a good cause and worth the time and expense. However, I have found many cemeteries that are abandoned and are a disgrace. For that there is no excuse as far as I am concerned. The following is an outline of what I have done so far trying to get help for these final resting places of people who should be remembered.

Glen Grouse Cemetery
in Harvey E Twp is the worst so far but not the only one

  • Contacted a lady that has worked on Atlanta history & information for many years, she said she had contacted a relative of a person buried in Glen Grouse and they said they checked it and it was a"mess" but did nothing to clean it up.
  • Contacted Gerald Grow of E. Harvey twp. he said to his knowledge no one in the 40 years he had been there had taken care of the cemetery.
  • Contacted VFW since there are military stones, they said they didn't have the funds or the manpower to clean it up.
  • Went to a county commissioners meeting. They had the County Engineer do a study & take pictures but was told that I need to go to a township meeting to see if I could get someone there to take care of it.
  • Was made aware of Kansas Statute No. 80-916 which has shed new light on the course to take
  • Discovered this week that "someone" has burned off 3 cemeteries including Glen Grouse. In my opinion this is an unexceptable means of maintaining a cemetery. This does however make it possible to see the sad state of the cemetery even better. I have taken many pictures of the "before" and "after" the burn which will be posted very soon.
  • I have 3 meetings set up for next week which I am hoping will get a couple steps closer to getting help for these cemeteries.
This will be an ongoing mission.
We will post progress (or lack of it) as we go along.
If anyone has suggestions or experiences we would like to hear from you.

Abandoned and Neglected Cemeteries
Kansas Statute No. 80-916
Chapter 80.--TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNSHIP OFFICERS
Article 9.--PUBLIC PARKS ANDCEMETERIES
80-916. Care of abandoned cemeteries. From and after the passage of this act it shall be the duty of the township board of any township within the state of Kansas in which there is situated an abandoned cemetery to provide for the care of such cemetery and to provide for the proper and seasonable cutting of all weeds and grass therein at least twice each year; and for such purposes such township board shall appropriate and expend not more than $500 per year for each such cemetery. History: L. 1917, ch. 84, § 1; L. 1919, ch. 105, § 1; R.S. 1923, 80-916; L. 1982, ch. 72, § 14; July 1.

EMAIL Cowley County Coordinator
Karen Rodenbaugh ....Arkansas City, KS
ksr@kans.com

Email corrections and submissions to Steve ruggles


State Coordinators
Tom & Carolyn Ward, Columbus, KS
ks@rootsquest.com
tcward@columbus-ks.com

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