Polson’s oldest cemetery is the Beauvais-Decker Cemetery located on an old rutted road that ends at the cemetery southeast of downtown. Only in the last few years have a committed group of citizens undertaken the tough work of cleaning the cemetery and making it accessible. They hope to restore it fully in the forthcoming years.

Identified grave markers date to the first decade of Polson’s development (1898-1908) and into the 21st century. Thus the cemetery is associated with the settlement history of Polson.

Once the cemetery fell into disrepair some grave markers were lost. Metal poles mark some graves. The original landscaping plan had a large burial area south of the circular drive, where a flagpole was installed, extending to the adjacent tree line.

Another large burial area is north and west of the flagpole.

As the ongoing restoration proceeds, a significant early Lake County cemetery comes into view. I look forward to seeing the progress on my next visit to Polson.