Polk County will use Amery Prairie View site to scatter cremains of unclaimed residents

Polk County officials on July 15 described a plan to use a small, abandoned burial plot known in historical deeds as Amery Prairie View Cemetery to scatter cremated remains of unclaimed Polk County residents and to create an online database to record those dispositions.

Tanya Eichlton, Polk County community services director, told the Polk County Board of Supervisors the program is intended “to assist our local funeral homes when they have an unclaimed body in the final disposition of the cremains of Polk County residents.” She said the county will follow the statutory waiting period for unclaimed remains before taking responsibility.

The site is located near the county’s old poor farm, described in the presentation as at “100 And Tenth Avenue and 100 And Twentieth Street” south across Highway 8. Eichlton said historical research of deeds and local records identified the formal name as Amery Prairie View Cemetery (sometimes referred to colloquially as the Poor Farm Cemetery). The county’s survey found 28 unmarked crosses and four headstones at the site; one headstone listed John McAdams with a date of death of March 27, 1883.

Eichlton said the medical examiner’s office pays for cremation when next of kin cannot be located and that remains are held at funeral homes for a 60-day period “required by statute.” After funeral homes and the medical examiner exhaust measures to locate next of kin, the county will arrange a short service, scatter the cremains, and record the disposition in an online database. Eichlton said the county will contact Pastor Barry Schafer, the Polk County chaplain, for the short service.

The presentation outlined features already in place or planned: a memorial marker and a donated headstone obtained through Melgaard Monuments of River Falls; a bench built by an Amery School District technical-education class; a sign installed with help from Polk County Highway Department staff; and an online searchable list of name (if known), date of death and town for referrals or family searches. Eichlton said Melgaard Monuments and the Amery School District provided material support and that the county’s Highway Department dug post holes for the sign.

Eichlton said the county intends the scatter option to be rare and limited to truly unclaimed remains, not a low-cost alternative for families. She added that human remains identified only as John or Jane Doe would not be scattered because those remains must be available for exhumation if further forensic work is needed.

Chair (Polk County Board of Supervisors) asked how many unclaimed remains the county currently holds; Eichlton answered, “We have 1 unclaimed since 2023.” County staff also said the deed lists the official owner as the environmental services committee.

The board received the presentation; no formal vote was recorded on adopting a policy at the meeting. Board members were told the county has authorized a local volunteer who lives adjacent to the site to help maintain it and that the county may provide materials for upkeep.

The county said it will maintain records of each scatter in the new database and that use of the plot will be limited to unclaimed Polk County residents following the county’s coordination with the medical examiner and funeral directors.