AKA: 

Number of Burials (approximate): 4700

Dates of Activity: 1996 - present

Documentation/Publication: 

CCGS, The Cemeteries of Dunnstable Township (2006)

Directions/GPS: 

From the intersection of Jay and Water Streets in Lock Haven, head South one block and turn left onto East Main Street (PA Route 150).  Travel 4.3 miles and turn left onto Stewart Road.  Travel about 0.3 mile and turn right onto Big Plum Run Road.  Travel less than 0.1 mile and turn left onto Rest Haven Drive, which leads up into the cemetery.

N41 10.150 W77 22.549

Landowner / Caretaker:

Rest Haven Memorial Park

P.O. Box 296

McElhattan, PA 17748

Condition/Needs: 

Excellent

History:

Memorial Parks as an alternative to traditional cemeteries were introduced in the 20th century.  Dr. Hubert Eaton, in designing Forest Lawn Cemetery in California in 1917, proposed the prototype of the memorial park.  It took several years for the concept to catch on, but the idea developed across the country about the time of World War II and after, complete with sweeping lawns of flat plaques to mark graves laid out in an orderly fashion.  On May 23, 1940, the Lock Haven Mausoleum Company, which had been recently chartered, purchased a tract of 34.84 acres in Dunnstable Township from George Dewey Brooks for $1.00.  The grounds were made ready for burial, and the first recorded burial was that of Ethel Evanna Berry, age 47, on September 25, 1942.

The directors of Rest Haven Memorial Park eventually sold their interests to long-time caretaker Jack D. Myers.  He lived in a home next to the cemetery and assumed care of the grounds for many years.  In recent years, Rest Haven has come under the ownership of the Leturn Group, Inc., a cemetery management corporation based in Steelton, Pennsylvania, which owns eleven other cemeteries in Pennsylvania.  The on-site manager is Michelle Andrews.  Rest Haven remains an active place of burial in Clinton County, and recently added a columbarium for the placement of urns.