Jason Sorensen Above: Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont will be celebrating 150 years this weekend. A picnic will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, with a rain day set for Sunday. Food will be provided, and a free-will donation will be accepted. People are asked to bring their own garbage bag and blankets or chairs to sit on.

FAIRMONT — Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont, once called “The Silent City,” will be celebrating a historic milestone this weekend at 150 years old. The public is invited to celebrate the anniversary on Saturday by having a picnic at the gravesite of their loved ones. Carol Madsen, president of the Fairmont Cemetery Association, shared some history of the cemetery.

The first burial at what would later become Lakeside Cemetery was made in 1868. Fairmont had no cemetery at the time.

A man named H.C. Waterman buried his daughter, Carrie, on land owned by George Tanner. Tanner had built and operated a mill beside a dam that had been constructed on the lower end of George Lake. Tanner gave Waterman consent to bury his daughter, and five days later a man by the name of Louis LaBoute was buried in the same ground.

LaBoute had been a resident of Canada before coming to America and was 102 years old at the time of his death. A short time after his burial, an infant of one Mr. Howell was buried there.

At the time of the three burials, the land was a homestead and there was no title by which the deed could be given. It was not until November 14, 1871, that Lakeside Cemetery association was formed. The original board of directors, or trustees as they were then called, included William H. Budd, E.S. Snow, T.S. Curtis, G.W. Tanner, A.D. Cadwell and J.A. Armstrong.

The first meeting of the association was held in E.W. Bird’s drug store. The original tract was comprised of 60 acres on the west shore of Lake George, 53 of which were purchased from C.F. Livermore for $4,300. Of this, $3,300 was raised by the house-to-house canvas and Livermore paid the final $1,000 to give the association a clear title.

The cemetery currently has 37 acres preserved for burials and 23 for expansion and is a public non-profit association owned by those who purchase burial property in the cemetery. All faiths are served by the cemetery.

The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and the Vietnam Veterans built the Lakeside Veterans Memorial in 1987. The upkeep of the memorial and flags is maintained by these organizations.

In 1983, a mausoleum was constructed with 64 crypts and 64 niches. According to the present cemetery actuary files, there are approximately 8,000 loved ones residing at Lakeside Cemetery.

The picnic will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Brats, hot dogs, chips, cookies and water will be served. A free-will donation will be accepted to be used for the replacement of the retaining wall. People are asked to bring their own garbage bag and blanket or chair to sit on.