A Lake Lemon history lesson

[Kevin]

A Lake Lemon history lesson

QUESTION: How did Cemetery Island at Lake Lemon get its name? Is there any history about it, and is anyone actually buried there?

F.M., Bloomington

ANSWER: A story in the Feb. 14, 1950, Bloomington Daily Herald reported on the status of a proposed lake project in the Bean Blossom Creek area, which Mayor Thomas Lemon and other community leaders supported as being necessary for Bloomington’s water supply. The project involved the city’s purchase of land and the relocation of a number of homes and residents. Among those having to relocate was the Bridge Church of Christ and cemetery.

Liz Knapp of the Monroe County History Center told Hotline that the graves were moved to several different cemeteries, and when water entered for the lake, the “island” was visible where the cemetery and church had been. Locals started calling it Cemetery Island.