Jurisdiction:  Royalton Township Section 29

 

Status:  Moved

 

Location:  West Side of Eidson Road, ½  Mile South of John Beers Road on Private Property

 

Cemetery Governing Body:  Private Property

 

Those that were buried in Tryon Cemetery and their headstones have since been moved to the Spring Run Cemetery in Scottdale.  This small cemetery had experienced vandalism over the years including people trying to find the bones of people buried there.  In September of 1980, David and Diane Savage visited the location and found myrtle growing everywhere and the sunken spots where graves had been was still evident.  They even discovered a few broken headstones.  They pieced some of the remaining stones together and managed to find the names of some that were buried.

 

The history of the Tryon family in Royalton goes back to Rowland Tryon and his son William H. Tryon when they first came to the township in the early fall of 1834.  They found an 80-acre piece of land in Section 29 that they wanted to settle on.  Rowland traveled to Kalamazoo to the land office to apply for the land.  The office was closed on his arrival but he learned that someone else was interested in the same piece of property.  The next morning he got up early and managed to register the land prior to his competition.  Rowland and William returned to their home in Indiana to collect the rest of the family.  Rowland Tryon died at the family homestead in 1875.  William was a prominent member of the community.  Not only was he one of the largest fruit growers in the township, but also he was a grain dealer in Chicago and owned a general store.  He also held such offices as Notary Public, Director of the National Bank of St. Joseph, Justice of the Peace, Royalton Township Treasurer and Coroner.

 

Named for the family, the old Tryon School sits on the southeast corner of John Beers Road and Scottdale Road.  The building has been restored in recent years and is being used as a community center.

 

 Written By David Barricklow