The township maintains* two cemeteries:
Salem Cemetery: Adjacent to the St. Joseph and Elkhart county line (Ash Road), just north of Brummitt Road
Harris Prairie Cemetery: On the south side of Adams Road less than a mile east of Fir Road
For a list of St. Joseph County Cemetery Locations and directions, follow the link.
Each of Harris Township’s cemeteries has hundreds of grave sites. Some early pioneers are buried in Harris Prairie Cemetery.
If you have information you’d like to reference or add, please contact the trustee.
No grave sites are for sale.
See additional information here. And in this article.
Cemetery Rules - New cemetery rules are in effect, with plants and decorations subject to removal.
Burials - require proof of ownership. Plan ahead.
If you own a grave site and need information, please contact the trustee. It will help if you have a copy of the deed or other paperwork.
For funeral homes: please contact the township before committing a burial date.
Looking for a particular grave-site? Seeking cemetery records? We can’t vouch for this third party site, but you might find it interesting Find A Grave Also, there is an online resource about local local cemetery inscriptions.
For those doing research in general, you might add the The South Bend Area Genealogical Society to your list of resources.
You will see some treestones in the cemeteries. These are headstones shaped as a tree trunk.
Learn more at this site about Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago.
Interested in such things? Volunteer as a cemetery historian for the township.
For history buffs, the reason a township maintains a cemetery is because state law says it must as long as it existed in 1939 and was abandoned.
*Maintenance is defined as eradicating weeds, straightening headstones, fence upkeep, and mowing grass.
Don’t assume a township maintaining a cemetery has original records, at least those from the beginning years of the cemetery.