Sumnerville Mounds
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Sumnerville Cemetery

Sumnerville Mounds, also, Sumnerville Cemetery. . , (Obverse Side) , Sumnerville Mounds , Between the first and fourth centuries A.D. Hopewell Indians built nine burial mounds near here. The six remaining earthen mounds reflect the Hopewellian culture, which flourished in the Eastern Woodlands of North America, primarily in Illinois and Ohio. Sumnerville is one of the few places in Michigan where Hopewellian mounds have survived into the twentieth century. While most mounds have been destroyed by plowing or construction, the Sumnerville mounds were preserved by the landowners. Some of the artifacts removed from the mounds during the late nineteenth century were acquired by the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. Archaeologists named "Sumnerville Incised," a type of Hopewellian pottery, for its association with this site. , , (Reverse Side) , Sumnerville Cemetery , The earliest marked grave in Sumnerville Cemetery dates from 1830 and bears the name "Emily Markham." Many Pokagon pioneers are buried there, including the prominent African American families of Ash, Gault, Mitchem, and Mitchell. The remains of Cass County's first white settlers, Uzziel and Anna Putnam are interred in the cemetery. The Putnams came to Pokagon Prairie in 1825. Charity Thompson, the widow of Berrien County's first white settler, Squire Isaac Thompson, and two of their children are also buried in the cemetery. Veterans, beginning with the War of 18 12, are interred there, as well as judges, legislators and township officials. Since 1990, Pokagon Township has cared for the cemetery.