Greenmount Cemetery has a history closely associated with that of Salem Church and South Quincy. The story of one could not be told without including some words about the other two. The fact is Greenmount Cemetery belongs not solely to Salem Church but also to South Quincy and indeed to the whole city and surrounding communities. It is the sacred spot for thousands of families from all walks of life and from every religious persuasion who have laid their loved ones to rest.
salem.jpg In April 1845, John Christoph Jung who was born in Ossweil, Wuerteenberg, Germany in 1819, became the pastor of the "Bergkirche", as the first German church in Quincy was called. Around Easter time of 1848 Rev. Jung founded Salem's congregation and served the church from 1848-1852. The congregation met in his home at 725 Maine and later in the Congregational Church building on the northwest corner of 5th and Jersey, where now we find the Quincy Herald-Whig. Under his leadership, the congregation started their first church building in May of 1848. It was a small brick building located on the northeast corner of Ninth and State Streets. The Salem Church building is still at this location today. From these beginnings the Green Mound Cemetery was founded. The congregation tried in 1856 and in 1866 to acquire land for a cemetery, but the arrangements could not be made. The congregation tried a third time, in the spring of 1875, under the leadership of Rev. Simon Kuhlenhoelter. On June 8, 1875 Salem Congregation decided to buy a tract of land on South 12th Street, just outside of the city limits, for the purpose of providing a burial ground. This land is just east of South Park, on one of the highest and driest points near the city limits.
In the beginning, the original cemetery land (Blocks 1 - 5) was named Green Mound Cemetery and the remaining land was named Greenmount Cemetery. About 1910 this separation was discontinued and the name Greenmount Cemetery was used exclusively. Since that time, additional purchases of land have been made and the Cemetery Association owns approximately 100 acres with 50 acres currently open for burial