Postcard of St. Joseph Cemetery, with lake and graves, located at 2500 Mesker Park Dr. "St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery is owned and operated by Catholic Parishes in the city of Evansville. � The cemetery has been in operation since 1841, just a few years after the first Catholic Parish, Our Lady of the Assumption, was established in 1837. The original St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery was located northeast of the city in an area that is now bounded by Columbia, Michigan, and Garvin streets. This cemetery was used from 1841-1871.In 1871, a group was organized to lay the groundwork for a new Catholic Cemetery. The original board of directors consisted of representation from Assumption, Holy Trinity and St. Mary parishes. Two main sites were studied for relocating the old cemetery. One was in the area of the present day Johnson Place on Lincoln Avenue and the other, which was eventually chosen, on Mesker Park Drive. When this hundred and fifteen acre plot of land was purchased in 1870, it was located on the far outskirts of the young city of Evansville. In 1872, the new grounds were ready for burials. It wasn�t until 1879 that all remaining bodies were removed from the old cemetery and reburied in the new cemetery. To date, St. Joseph Cemetery is the final resting place for over 37,000 people. (http://www.stjoecemetery.org/HISTORY)