Parr Cemetery
Cedar County, Iowa

From the Cedar County Historical Review August 1959, published by the Cedar County Historical Society. Page 16: "By the Hoover Highway, (county road Y14), three miles southwest of Lowden, a U.S. flag flutters in the breeze above a grave. A government headstone marks the soldier's resting place. About the graveyard is a high wire fence. Inscribed on the stone is Elliott Parr, Company K, 3 5th Iowa Infantry. Elliott Parr was a son of Old Billy Parr, as he was known back in Ohio and later in Cedar County where he, with fifty others, came in 1848 to build homes. This son with four others went to war. He came back to Old Billy unscratched. But the smallpox epidemic of 1867 struck the county and Elliott Parr died. Residents of the section were terrified and refused to allow smallpox victims' burial in Van Horn Cemetery, the only burial ground in the vicinity. "I have enough land of my own," said Old Billy Parr, "My son was a good soldier. He can have a cemetery of his own." So Old Billy set aside this quarter acre and deeded it to Cedar County. There he buried his son. The government placed the headstone years ago.