Palmier Cemetery

Palmier Cemetery was established in 1783, laid out on ground donated by Benjamin and Joseph Ogle-part of the Ogle Estate on Palmier Hill, for what would become the oldest cemetery in the Columbia precinct. Flooding in the area caused the cemetery to be located on a hill. The cemetery consists of approximately six acres. About 400 names are listed in the burial register, and it may be that earlier burials went unrecorded. It is possible to find stones dating to the mid-1780s. Palmier Cemetery is named after the Palmier family, French-Canadians from Quebec, who moved to the Columbia area and lived on near the creek that flows south of the cemetery the creek became known as Palmier Creek. It is claimed that the Palmier family settled here in the 1650s. In 1783, James Piggott traveled the Kaskaskia Trail with George Rogers Clark and his militiamen by 1787, several of Piggot's friends followed. In all, 17 families had settled in the area by 1790. In the late 1800s, the following family names could be found among inhabitants: Ogle, Palmier Carr, Divers, Morgan, Lanceford, Payne, Phelps, Ramsey, Sharpe and Wilson. Many of these names can be found on gravestones in Palmier Cemetery. n January of 1926, Columbia American Legion Post 581 was appointed trustee of the Palmier Cemetery. It was so neglected that instead of using mowers, Post members came to work with axes to cut down the trees that all but hid the monuments. The cemetery is now taken care of by a group of volunteers. In 1976, a pillar was erected at the cemetery entrance by American Legion Post 581 and the Monroe County Historical Society to honor the early pioneers and patriots of the Revolutionary War, War of 18 12, Black Hawk War, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Korean War and Vietnam War. Below you will find a listing of the veterans that are buried here: Revolutionary War Jacob Grotts, II. Reg. VA Jacob Judy, II. Reg. VA George Lundford, IL Regt. VA War of 18 12 -1815 Jacob Lundford Mexican - American War 1846 -1848 Samuel Hess Co. F 2nd Il. Reg., Thomas W. Morgan 2nd Il. Inf., Edward Morgan Old Battalion, Joseph Warnock Co. I 2nd Il. Civil War 1861 -1865,