Established in 1893 on the grounds of the county almshouse and poor farm, the Ramsey County Cemetery was a "Potter's Field" for indigent persons, the homeless, and patients at Ancker Hospital who died without friends or relatives to pay funeral costs. No provision was made to provide headstones and with few exceptions graves were unmarked. When the cemetery closed in 1923 there had been 2,991 recorded burials. Afterwards, the burial ground reverted to agricultural use as part of the poor farm. In 2001, the 2.45 acre site was designated a heritage park by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners.
After the last burial in December, 1923, the old potter's field was quickly forgotten, except for one grave. Conrad Samuelson cared for the grave of his friend, Elmer Dahl, who had died in 1922. A makeshift memorial was built with old bricks and flowers and two spruce trees placed in the middle. When Samuelson died, he wished to be buried next to his friend. He was buried on June 29, 1936 at Elmhurst Cemetery.
Caption: Dairy herd at Ramsey County Home
Caption: Ramsey County Home
Caption: Gardening at Ramsey County Home
Caption: Ramsey County Home dining hall
Caption: Duke Rana, Ramsey County Poor Farm resident
Caption: Katie Bloom, Ramsey County Poor Farm resident
Caption: Ramsey County Home
barns and silos
Caption: Ramsey County Poor Farm residents playing pool
Caption: Storing hay in barn on Ramsey County Poor Farm (1935)
Caption: Ramsey County Home barber shop (1937)
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