May They Rest in Peace. Amen. Kith and Kin at the Highland Cemetery Dakota County, Minnesota

The Highland Cemetery sits atop a small hill on what was once the vast Minnesota prairie. Located on a corner of a farm at the intersection of Dodd and Pilot Knob Roads in Lakeville, Dakota County, Minnesota USA, the cemetery is surrounded by corn fields on three sides.  A dense patch of woods covers the rear of the cemetery - along side the woods, not visible from the cemetery proper, is a sand quarry. From the hilltop, suburban tract housing is seen across the farm fields. Despite encroaching development and the removal of tombstones and historic features, the Highland remains an evocative place, a tribute to the courage of Catholic immigrants, mostly from Ireland, and their struggle to create a new community on the prairie.

The Cemetery History Lost:  The 1998 Clean-Up Map of the Cemetery (24K) The Families Cemetery Registry Obituaries More on the Families Histories of the Dakota County Irish 40+ family trees contributed by Kevin Geraghty Site Index Links Sources and Acknowledgements About the Author

ALERT - The Highland Cemetery faces new dangers!  The City of Lakeville lifted its development moratorium and for the next 3-5 years, the Highland Cemetery will be in the middle of a construction zone.  In the end, there will be a strip mall to the north, a divided highway to the west, and hundreds of new housing units on all sides.  Help protect the cemetery during these perilous times - please join the Friends of the Highland Cemetery.