Fowler Cemetery, Bloomington Township, Butler County, Kansas

Fowler Cemetery, also known as Bloomington Cemetery and Bogle Cemetery, is located in rural Butler County.

There are just over 100 known burials here, and it is still an active cemetery. It is currently managed and maintained by Bloomington Township.

Fowler Cemetery probably got its name from Hiram H. Fowler, an early settler in this area, and at one time the owner of this land.

Hiram H. Fowler (1815-1894)

Hiram Fowler was born in Vermont, and appears to have had considerable experience as a pioneer landowner. He was among the first to settle in Bloomington Township along Hickory Creek.

H.H. Fowler was among the early settlers of Bloomington Township. Source

But before landing in Kansas, he may have also been one of the early settlers and landowners in Whiteside County, Illinois (1839), Shelby County, Iowa (1855), and Rock Bluff, Nebraska (1856). Land and census records show him in each area.

Rock Bluff “was just as fancy as Omaha at one time,” and while Hiram is mentioned as being one of the “ill-fated” town’s founders, he wasn’t there long enough to earn a full biography in Andreas’ History of Cass County, Nebraska, just a mere mention.

Hiram made his way to the wilds of Kansas in the late 1860’s and claimed at least 640 acres in Bloomington Township over time that he improved and farmed.

“Mr F. is a well-to-[do] farmer. He has splendid crops, a big lot of stock, and a comfortable home. He has the most convenient stock yard I ever beheld–has fixed an artificial channel of water through his cattle yard–as clear and swift a current as one could wish for. Everything is in its place. He is the oldest settler on the creek. He is a very popular, upright, intelligent, and patriotic citizen, and is well beloved by his neighbors.”

Walnut Valley Times, El Dorado, KS, Jul 29, 1870

His orderly and bountiful farm extended into adjacent Logan Township, and was probably 800 acres or more in total. His farm was so large that in 1879 he was able to winter 4,000 sheep for a friend.

On his property in Butler County, he had a “stone house, fine orchard, miles of hedge and immense crops.” The literal fruits of his labor benefitted the community.

El Dorado Republican, El Dorado, KS, Jun 26, 1878

Hiram served as treasurer (1872) and Justice of the Peace (1874) of Bloomington Township. He was also the postmaster (1879) of the now extinct settlement of Freedom nearby.

Walnut Valley Times, El Dorado, KS, Jun 20, 1879

According to the Butler County Historical Museum, Freedom had a post office from 1874-1900 near Webster School (School No. 5). The ghost settlement gets a mention in Mooney’s History as an extinct town, but nothing more. Fowler Cemetery once served the settlers of Freedom.

Hiram must have donated a portion of his land as a cemetery for the people of Bloomington Township or Freedom. I found no documentation to support this, but the land was owned by Hiram when the first dozens of burials occurred, and there is clearly a cemetery there.

Hiram sold the 640 acre farm in Bloomington Township to T.F. Chamberlain in 1882. Based on later ownership maps, this sale likely included the cemetery.

Butler County Democrat, El Dorado, KS, Jul 13, 1882

After the land sale, Hiram left Kansas for “an extended visit” to Pennsylvania and never moved back. Just like his time in Nebraska, he left Kansas before earning a biography in Mooney’s History of Butler County, Kansas, and his name also didn’t appear on the earliest Butler County maps.

Just like Freedom, Hiram disappeared from Butler County’s historical narrative.

Hiram’s former ranch, sold to T.F. Chamberlain, appears on the 1885 map of Butler County. The cemetery is not marked on this map, but there were at least 40 people buried in the northeast corner of his land at the time Fowler sold him the land.

Hiram Fowler’s former land owned by T.F. Chamberlain, right on the Bloomington Township line, is outlined in green. The school house that served Freedom (outlined in yellow) still stands (on private property) at Haverhill and 140th. Source

Hiram came back to Kansas (and Nebraska) from time to time to check on his business interests (or perhaps to market his patented swing), but he lived the remainder of his life in Pennsylvania and was buried there.

The Butler County Democrat, El Dorado, KS, Apr 18, 1895

Hiram has no known family members buried at Fowler Cemetery, but he did leave behind an estate in Kansas worth about $20,000 (about $750,000 in 2024) for his abandoned children to fight over.

Gravestones at Fowler Cemetery

The oldest known gravestone here is for Catherine Russell, age two, who died in 1870. The Russell’s lived in Logan Township. Catherine was buried on Hiram’s land at a time when he was known as “one of the most extensive farmers” in the township.

Catherine, dau. of B.F. and F. Russell, born May 19, 1868, departed this life Dec 29, 1870

Her mother Frances, father Benjamin, and sister Fannie are also buried here. Frances died about a week after Fannie was born. Fannie died a month later.

Fannie, dau. of B.F. & F. Russell, born Aug. 29, 1872, departed this life Oct 9, 1872

Francis, wife of B.F. Russell

Joshua Leuallen was just 23 years old when he died in 1873.

Joshua Leuallen, died Mar 11, 1873, aged 23 years

Kath. Krudwig, died Oct 10, 1875, aged 62 years. The Dawson (Wichita) mark is visible at the bottom of this gravestone.

Ray Villa Nelson, 1876, 5 months

“Domie” might be Jerome Dedrick Jr., age 29, died 1895

Leva, beloved daughter of L.S. & K. Colter, died Sept 16, 1879, aged 3 years, 3 months, 16 days. This gravestone bears a Kimmerle & Adams (Wichita) maker’s mark.

In loving remembrance of Mary W. Dedrick, wife of Nelson Dedrick, died July 20, 1880, aged 45 years, 9 months, 15 days.

There is no death! What seems so, is transition; This life of mortal breath is but a suburb of the life elysian, whose portal we call “Death.”

The Bogle family settled in Bloomingtown Township in 1869, and sometimes this cemetery is called Bogle Cemetery, even though there are just three members of the Bogle family here.

Mary Elizabeth Barr Bogle

There are nine members of the Brodie family buried here. The Brodie family also pioneered in Bloomington Township, and some of their family history is recorded here in stone.

Unknown Grave Markers at Fowler Cemetery

Quite a few graves are still marked with blank stones, or the etching has worn away making it difficult to tell who they are meant to honor.

Because there was a settlement nearby called Freedom, and at least one person with the surname Freeman buried here in an early unmarked grave, one might assume there are recently freed slaves buried here. But I found no evidence of Freedom being a freedom town, and the individuals buried here that I researched were of European descent.