"On June 21, 1845, Peter Gillette sold a piece of property 9 rods (1 rod equals 5.5 yds or 16.5 ft) north and south by 12 rods east and west for the sum of 12 dollars in hand to 18 grantees for the purpose of a burying ground.
Two of these grantees were the brothers Isaac and Oliver Barton who organized the first meeting of the Warren Methodist Church. Other grantees were Ames, Davy, Halsey, Hitchcock, Hoxie, Royce, Smith, McGrath, Torry, Scott, Height, Sherry, Dunning, and Johnson.
More land was purchased in 1854, 1863, 1877, 1884, 1885, and 1904. On May 24, 1884 the trustees of the St. Paul United Church of Christ purchased the east portion of the cemetery from the First Methodist Church.
There has been speculation as to the origin of the name of the cemetery. We believe it is because of the union of the 2 church burying grounds and not referenced to the Civil War since it was referred to as the Union Cemetery as early as 1854.
Today it is the resting place of many of the original settlers of Warren. The west end of the cemetery had been neglected and vandalized for many years until 1978 when the Warren Historical [& Genealogical] Society [and the Warren Village Historic District Commission] decided to adopt it as a worthwhile community project.
St. Paul United Church of Christ pays for the upkeep of the east side.
In 1992 a state Historical Marker designating the cemetery as a Michigan Historic site by the Bureau of History, Michigan Dept. of State was dedicated. Two representatives from the Michigan Historical Commission were present as well as Mayor Bonkowski of Warren and approx. 100 residents of Warren.
On April 28, 1993, another ceremony took place in the cemetery, it was a Time Capsule Closing Ceremony commemorating the incorporation of the Village of Warren on April 28, 1893. The time capsule is scheduled to be opened April 28, 2043.
Taken from "Cemetery Walk" by Dorothy Peck Cummings, 1982.
