Sharon Cemetery Historic District, Historic cemetery district in Harrison Township, United States
Sharon Cemetery Historic District covers about 9.5 acres in rural Harrison Township, Lee County, Iowa, near Farmington. It comprises four frame buildings of the Sharon Presbyterian Church and churchyard: the 1885 church, the 1918 manse, the 1899 sexton's house, and c. 1902 toilet rooms and lavatory. The cemetery has an older 4-acre section from the 1860s and a newer 4-acre section added in 1899.
The cemetery's older four-acre section was established in the 1860s; a second four-acre section was added around it in 1899. The church was built in 1885, followed by the sexton's house in 1899, the toilet rooms and lavatory around 1902, and the manse in 1918. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The cemetery is a rural cemetery, a style O.C. Simonds helped popularize; he laid out the grounds and drew up a planting plan, though how closely it was followed is unknown. The older four-acre section dates from the 1860s, and the newer four acres wrapping around it were added in 1899. The name Sharon comes from the Presbyterian congregation whose church and churchyard the cemetery belongs to.
The entry gate opens onto a drive that meets a loop driveway at a galvanized-iron water fountain; stone curbs, walkways and hitching posts line the route. The cemetery lies in two sections, the newer four-acre ring surrounding the 1860s core, so a loop walk passes both. The grounds are rural and unstaffed.
A memorial from 1907 was erected by the Iowa General Assembly to honor an American Revolutionary War soldier who died in Lee County. This monument still stands today as a reminder of an often overlooked part of local history.
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