International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery

Some people think the IOOF cemetery is in Barry County but it is actually in Lawrence County. The county line splits Monett at Cleveland Street which runs east and west.  South of Cleveland Street is Barry Co. and North of Cleveland is Lawrence County.  The cemetery is located North of Cleveland Street in Monett on Hwy 37, beside the KRMO radio station. 

The community of Forest Park was in Lawrence County until it was annexed to the City of Monett in 1934. Although it has grown since then, this is essentially the part of City of Monett that is now in Lawrence County and so until 1934 no part of the City of Monett was in Lawrence County. Anyone living in the City of Monett would have been on the Barry County Census for all the census years up through 1930.

The Forest Park public schools were annexed to the Monett School District in 1906. So someone attending Forest Park public schools during 1906-1934 would have been in the Monett School District, but not in the City of Monett. School districts do not always follow city and county boundaries.

IOOF is a large cemetery, nicely kept and there are over 5,400 residents buried here, most of which once lived and died in Barry County, MO. During the days that the railroad was Monett's main source of income it was a thriving place, diversified with many genetic backgrounds. Residents, many who worked for the railroad, not only came from nearly every state in the union, but were also born in these foreign countries: Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England, Wales, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Hungry, Poland, South America, Mexico and Canada.

Link to the City of Monett - IOOF Cemetery

  The above link is to the City of Monett and on that page is a link to their IOOF page - but it may not open. 

All the stones of this cemetery were photographed in the summer of 2007 by Jay Trace.