Cemetery group preserving history

Five years ago, a group of concerned people dedicated to family and historical preservation gathered to form the Arnsberg Cemetery Association.

Arnsberg, a town that once existed in north Cape Girardeau County, between Friedheim and Old Appleton on Route KK, was created by Adolph Tacke, an immigrant from Arnsberg, Germany.

Today, the old cemetery is maintained by committee members Mary Daume; Elroy Kinder; Norman, Val and Harlan Tuschhoff; Paul, Loretta and Harold Lowes; Leonard Adams and John D. Propst.

"Many took on the job of taking care of the cemetery. Some were paid and some not," said Daume, a Jackson resident who worked extensively to compile a town history of Arnsberg.

After 1997, when caretaker Alvin Sauer died, Irene Detjen had been involved in the upkeep until the Arnsberg Cemetery Association was formed. Since then, the association has unearthed three headstones, preserved marble and concrete grave flower boxes and added .74 acres to the cemetery that now includes 3.14 acres.

A souvenir book titled "Arnsberg," containing family histories, five Tacke store ledgers, excerpts from the Grange Hall Book and space for adding family histories, has been prepared by the committee. Books from the first printing were sold out in a month.

A second printing was added and can be ordered from any committee member or from Leonard Adams, 1305 Cherokee, Jackson, Mo. 63755. Cost is $25 per book plus an additional $5 for postage.

Tacke bought the land for Arnsberg in 1864. In 1882, he bought a saw mill, flour mill and a mercantile store in the town.

A blacksmith shop, grange hall, saloon, ice house, dance floor, post office and St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church made up the rest of the town.

Tuberculosis brought Arnsberg to its knees by 1890. Sunken areas and ponds where the mill and other buildings once stood are the only evidence that a town once existed.