Monuments to Life Tour – Anoka, Minnesota

Monuments to Life Tour – Anoka, Minnesota

Early in October the Anoka County Historical Society hosts the annual tour of three cemeteries of the community that have the history of the area all laid out on the headstones located there.

The tour may start at Oakwood Cemetery, a small piece of land sandwiched between Hwy. 10 and W. Main Street in Anoka. Established in 1857, the cemetery contains many of the towns’ first citizens, including former Anoka mayor and Civil War veteran Marcus Q. Butterfield. His 4-foot-tall marble gravestone stands a few feet from the eroding dirt road that allows access to the cemetery from W. Main Street.

Butterfield died in 1886, and his gravestone is one of several from that time period. Some are obelisks; others are small stones in the ground. Some are located beneath trees; others have been disturbed by roots. Many are worn and unreadable.

The Monuments to Life tour focuses on history, where the tour guide explains the meaning of gravestone carvings to better understand the deceased’s life.

All through the tour the meanings of the gravestones are discussed, some have historical documents to verify the meaning of the stone chosen, others are left the the imagination of the group taking the tour. 

There are costumed actors, speaking in first person provide a sense of theater and drama to the tour.  Occassionally there is a diary or other material that was left by the deceased that will be read by one of the actors.

Other related topics covered include a history of funeral and mourning customs and how to best preserve loved ones’ gravestones.

Oakwood Cemetery is the final resting place for many of Anoka’s most prominent and founding citizens. Among the most notable is T.P. Giddings, who died in 1954. One of the city’s most eccentric characters, Giddings lived on the west bank of the Rum River, just south of Main Street. The landmark stone house that sits just down river from the Main Street Bridge was one of three similar structures Giddings built in the area. The mischievous Giddings, when asked by a stranger in the 1920s what the structures were for, told the man that they were watchtowers to guard against Indian attacks. The stranger took the false tale back east and told the newspapers about Anoka, Minnesota under threat of attack by Indians (a shocking story in the modern 1920s!). The story took on a life of its own, Giddings tried to correct the record by telling his story to the Anoka County Historical Society, but rumors and tall tales about the purpose and origin of the stone house continue today.

You can take all three tours and learn a great deal of Anoka history for just $20 or you can go to the tour of just one cemetery for $8.

As the Halloween Capital of the World Anoka  will provide you with a lifetime of memories of the weird, spooky and fun.

Contact the Anoka County Historical Society for tour tickets.

Anoka County Historical Society. 2135 – 3rd Ave., No. Anoka, MN 55303.

Phone:763-421-0600

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