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Grand Haven council approves Pottersfield memorial plaques at Lake Forest Cemetery
Summary
The council approved placement of seven bronze memorial plaques at Pottersfield in Lake Forest Cemetery, recognizing hundreds of previously unnamed burials. Private donors have raised about $50,000; the city will contribute $7,019.90 toward the project.
On Feb. 3, 2025, the Grand Haven City Council voted to approve placement of seven bronze memorial plaques at Pottersfield within Lake Forest Cemetery to list the names of people long buried without permanent markers.
The plaques, the cemetery board and project volunteers told the council, will be funded primarily with private donations and are intended to acknowledge people buried in the city’s potter’s field. The city administration recommended approval; the council passed the resolution by roll call vote.
The effort was introduced to the council by Derek Lemke, Facilities Manager, and Chuck Fuller, a member of the Lake Forest Cemetery board who led the historical research. Fuller told the council he compiled an identified list of names after searching cemetery ledgers, newspaper archives and county records and said, in presentation, that he “do[es] have a definite count of the 871” names found during his research. Fuller described Pottersfield as “designated as an area for the indigent, the poor, the unknown, and they were buried at the county’s expense.”
Project organizers said private donors have pledged about $50,000 toward the bronze plaques. A representative of the effort told the council the plaques will be bronze, with mockups shown in the council chambers, and said they plan seven large plaques listing names and death dates. Organizers said they have left space on the plaques to add additional names if more documented burials are identified.
The group requested a one-time city contribution of $7,019.90 to complete the plaque installation; organizers said an informational historical sign would cost an additional roughly $6,000 and they intend to seek separate funding for that sign. The Crane Foundation and other donors were named as contributors to the plaque fund.
Councilmember Fritz moved approval of the resolution; Councilmember Lowe seconded. The council approved the resolution on a roll-call vote with Fritz, Lowe, McLaughlin and Mayor Maneta voting yes. The resolution directs staff to coordinate placement and installation details with the cemetery board.
Project volunteers said they expect installation in spring or early summer and will direct members of the public who seek additional genealogical information to the Grand Haven library and local museum resources. Fuller and cemetery-board members emphasized the project is intended to honor those buried without markers and to provide historical context for the community.
Council members thanked Fuller and the volunteer researchers for the work and expressed support for the memorialization effort.
