Niles Daily Star Series

Not all of Silverbrook Cemetery's most interesting stories have to do with people.

The Common Council on May 6, 1897, on motion of L.A. Duncan, fixed the salary of the sexton at $40 per year. An additional $75 per year was allowed for his horse.

The hitching post, which rests near the French family plot, is one of two located in the cemetery for the use of the sexton during the 1890s.

Circular concrete watering troughs are also scattered throughout the cemetery, suggesting the importance of taking care of the animals in the early history of Niles.

The care and upkeep of the new cemetery required a great deal of clearing of the land. A motion was made by the Common Council of the day that all proceeds from the sale of wood cut in the cemetery would be added to the cemetery fund.

The French family, whose family stone stands magnificent in the oldest part of the cemetery, is still represented in Niles. The paper company is the oldest family-owned business in Niles and is the oldest family-owned paper company in the country.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published January 10th, 2009

Not all of Silverbrook Cemetery's most interesting stories have to do with people.

The Common Council on May 6, 1897, on motion of L.A. Duncan, fixed the salary of the sexton at $40 per year. An additional $75 per year was allowed for his horse.

The hitching post, which rests near the French family plot, is one of two located in the cemetery for the use of the sexton during the 1890s.

Circular concrete watering troughs are also scattered throughout the cemetery, suggesting the importance of taking care of the animals in the early history of Niles.

The care and upkeep of the new cemetery required a great deal of clearing of the land. A motion was made by the Common Council of the day that all proceeds from the sale of wood cut in the cemetery would be added to the cemetery fund.

The French family, whose family stone stands magnificent in the oldest part of the cemetery, is still represented in Niles. The paper company is the oldest family-owned business in Niles and is the oldest family-owned paper company in the country.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published June 9th, 2007

He came to Niles on horseback in 1836.

The bride he married a year earlier and infant son followed later the same year. He became known as "old Dr. Richardson."

Dr. Stillman Richardson was born in Cheshire County, N. H. Part of his youth was spent in Boston, Mass. before moving to Cortland County, N.Y., where he first studied and practiced medicine.

However once he and his family moved to Niles, it was home for the remainder of their lives. His wife was a leading spirit in church, temperance and charitable work according to the book, History of Berrien County.

It is interesting to note that the memoriam does not mention his wife or son other than that they followed the doctor to Niles. He was remembered as a community icon, revered and yet personally a bit of an enigma.

Within the lengthy newspaper piece, the doctor was compared to someone referred to as "Abernethy." The memoriam said, "like his illustrious prototype beneath a rough exterior lay hidden beneath the inner and better portions of his nature."

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published June 16th, 2007

Of the more than 25,000 buried in Silverbrook Cemetery, several have left "monuments" to their community.

Among the Niles' treasures secured for us by our ancestors, now resting in Silverbrook, are Island Park, the boulder which marks the place of Fort Saint Joseph, the Cross of Father Allouez and the former "Castle Rest" mansion, once located on the spot now occupied by Lakeland "Pawating" Hospital.

The Woman's Progressive League of Niles played a large role in the community since its founding in 1912. The first president and one of its organizing members was Mrs. W. W. (Adeline) Dresden.

"Since the removal of the family from Chicago to Niles, in 1903, Mrs. Dresden has taken an active part in the city, church, and club affairs, aiding every movement for the uplift, pleasure, improvement, and betterment of the community. Her home, 'Castle Rest,' was constantly the scene of gracious hospitality, its doors being open alike to private and public entertainment. The city's interests were close to her heart and it was largely through her zeal and interest, that the Woman's Progressive League, to which most of the women of the city and vicinity belong, was organized," an article from the Jan. 22, 1915, issue of the Niles Daily Star said.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published June 29th, 2007