Agency Histories

The Salt Lake City Cemetery was created officially when Salt Lake City was incorporated in January 1851. George B. Wallace was the first sexton. A year earlier, Brigham Young formed a three-member council consisting of Wallace, Daniel H. Wells, and Joseph Heywood to locate an acceptable location for the city cemetery. The site where Wallace previously had buried two of his children in 1847 was selected. A 20-acre site for the cemetery was surveyed in 1849. (Michelle, "Salt Lake City Cemetery: The History," http://www.enjoyutah.org/2011/07/salt-lake-city-cemetery-history.html; originally posted 20 July 2011, downloaded 21 March 2013. "The mission of the Salt Lake City Cemetery is to serve the families who come to us in a time of need. To watch and care for these families loved ones who have been interred within our great and historical cemetery. To be a steward for the open space and care for the flora and fauna that lives and grows within our boundaries. We strive to provide service to the family members, friends and strangers who come to find closer, solace and peace within and upon are hallowed grounds. We strive daily to remember 'the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra you do.' We all try to 'pick up the stick' making sure to think first of those who work with us side by side and ourselves second." (Mission Statement of the SLC Cemetery, Salt Lake City Cemetery website, http://www.slcgov.com/cemetery, downloaded 21 March 2013.)