The foundation that oversees Galesburg’s Hope Cemetery is asking the City Council to budget $10,000 for the cemetery’s ongoing upkeep.
Hope Cemetery Treasurer Jack Templeton says the cemetery is older than the city itself but is a private cemetery that largely relies on donations.
Templeton says that annual upkeep expenses run $14,000-$16,000 with a trust that generates $6,000- $8,000.
“We are in need of help from the city. We feel like this is part of the city and we would like to request an annual budget item of $10,000 a year,” Templeton says.
Templeton adds that there are practically no available plots left so a normal source of income for a cemetery is off the table.
Hope Cemetery is the final resting place for many Galesburg founders including George Washington Gale, George Churchill, Silas Willard, and Hiram Kellogg, the first president of Knox College.
