DRAPER — A historic Mormon pioneer cemetery switched owners Tuesday night.

After unanimous City Council approval, Draper Cemetery, one of the last remaining graveyards owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under ownership of the south Salt Lake Valley city.

"One of the things I've felt very strongly about is maintaining the history of our community. I can't think of a better way than taking over the cemetery and honoring the people who built our community," Councilman Pete Larkin said.

The 2.7-acre site is a resting place to Draper's founding father, William Draper, and other prominent community and LDS Church leaders. It has 3,000 plots, 2,000 that are occupied. The remaining have been sold.

For years, the cemetery has been maintained by the Draper Cemetery Corporation, which is made up of volunteers of Draper LDS Church wards and stakes. However, the church is trying to divest itself of cemetery sites, said Ray Terry, vice president of Draper Cemetery Corp. So the land was donated to the city of Draper.

"We want to try and preserve the heritage that exists there," he said. "And we felt that the best way to do that is have it go to Draper City because it's a Draper City landmark."

The 150-year-old cemetery has a long history in the city. It was originally established on the Draper "sand hill" at the northeast corner of the city. But some graves were washed away by floods and others were dug up by animals, so the cemetery was moved to its current location, 12450 S. 900 East, in 1870.

Because the LDS Draper Stake appointed church members to maintain the grounds, costs were relatively low. But Draper City Manager John Hendrickson estimates it will cost Draper $20,000 a year to operate the site.

City officials brought up the idea of gathering volunteers to help keep costs low. Draper Stake President Boyd Ware embraced the idea.

"In terms of volunteerism, it's been a tradition for the youths in the Draper stakes to clean up the cemetery before Memorial Day," he said. "I, for one, would be very disappointed if that opportunity didn't continue. It helps them feel connected to their roots here."

Councilman Bill Colbert suggested the city invest in additional property so that future burial service could be provided to citizens. Mayor Darrell Smith agreed, adding, "It's just been a discussion, but I think it will be more of a goal now."

In addition, city officials want to create a Draper Cemetery Board.

"In order to breathe a sense of community, an integral part of that is to have a city-owned cemetery," Councilman Paul Edwards said. "If the city passes up this opportunity, we will live to regret that. For us to accept this offer is the right thing to do."

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