Jurisdiction:  St. Joseph Township Section 1

 

Status:  Inactive,  BCGS Cemetery Records updated  October 2005.

 

Location:  East side of Niles Road, ½ mile South of Lincoln Avenue, within Riverview Cemetery           

 

Cemetery Governing Body:  St. Joseph Township

 

Location of Cemetery Records:  Riverview Cemetery Office

 

Size:  2.7 acres

 

Royalton Heights Cemetery is a cemetery within a cemetery.  Surrounded by Riverview Cemetery on three sides, Royalton Heights Cemetery can be reached by entering the second stone entrance to the South.  Its unique burial plots facing Northwest set it aside from the rest of Riverview Cemetery.  The land was given by Noble and Mary Martin to Royalton Township, but was acquired by St. Joseph City after years of neglect.

 

There are an estimated 800 graves with markers dating back from the 1840’s and earlier.  In 1981, members of the Berrien County Genealogical Society transcribed all of the headstones.  These members were Edith Zuppann, Thelma Troost, Fern Betz and Macille Kline. 

 

Before Riverview Cemetery was laid out, the woods grew to the edge of Royalton Heights Cemetery, which is one of the oldest in Berrien County.  The tall growth of pine and oak formed a majestic background of year around green for the cemetery.  Little by little, the forest was cleared away until farmlands extended straight through from Lincoln Avenue to Niles Road, the old stagecoach route to Niles.  The woods on the riverside of the road were cleared for home sites overlooking the St. Joseph River.

 

Royalton Heights Cemetery had been the scene of Memorial Day exercises since the turn of the century.  In early times there were no florist shops so the graves were decorated with wreaths of myrtle, fashioned at home on frames of cardboard and decorated with glossy leaves and bright blossoms from beds of myrtle that grew in nearly every country yard.  Graves of each soldier were marked with the flag under which they fought.

 

For over 50 years, the townships of Lincoln, St. Joseph, and Royalton have maintained this section of the cemetery, under terms of an agreement.  In 1982, the three townships balked at paying higher annual maintenance costs that were requested by the city, triggering a dispute over ownership and title.  The township officials responded by saying they weren’t upset about the maintenance fees but the fact that they had never received any money from burials and perpetual care contracts during the entire time, therefore, should not have to pay for any upkeep.  In 1983, John Crow, attorney for St. Joseph Township stated that he found proof that Royalton Heights Cemetery was owned by the City of St. Joseph, thus making the city responsible for maintaining the area.  Crow said a title search showed a corporation named “Chicago Junior School” conveyed the section to the City of St. Joseph on April 25, 1938 and there were no further conveyances of the deed.  However, St. Joseph City Manager William Sinclair claimed the conveyance was not valid because “Chicago Junior School” didn’t have title to the section.  Research by City Assessor Richard Kiesel failed to show that “Chicago Junior School” ever owned the section.  In January of 1986, Berrien Circuit Court Judge Zoe Burkholz declared that the City of St. Joseph was the owner of Royalton Heights Cemetery and therefore, responsible for its maintenance.