In 1810, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and Trinity Reformed Church (Church of Christ) joined together to consecrate a church building called the Salem Church on Potomac Street. Both congregations used the building for services and the surrounding land for burials. The land for the church and cemetery came from the farm of the William Boone family. An article appeared in the Boonsboro Odd Fellow on August 2, 1860 urging the establishment of a public cemetery. Because of the close relationship between the Reformed and Lutheran congregations, these churches joined together and, on May 9, 1864, purchased about 3 acres of land from Henry Nyman, Sr. for $807.72. Rev. Amos Copenhaver, pastor of the Lutheran congregation, laid off the ground into avenues and burial lots with the assistance of others.
Additional land was purchased from adjoining landowners over the years to increase the size of the cemetery. A Constitution and By-Laws were adopted in 1882. The By-Laws stipulated that any person remaining in the cemetery after 9:00 (May-October) and 7:00 (October-May) would be fined “for each and every offense” not less that $2 and not more than $5. Further, it was unlawful for any child under 12 years of age to enter the grounds unless accompanied by a person who had attained the age of 18 years. Today, the Cemetery is still maintained by the Boonsboro Cemetery Association comprised of board members from both churches.
Photos from www.boonsborocemetery.org.
