The town of New Ulm was originally called Duff's Settlement at the time of its founding, and was named for James C. Duff, who in 1841 acquired title to the site upon which the settlement was founded. A post office began operation in 1853. At that time, the town's name was changed to New Ulm in honor of Ulm, a city in the province of Wurttemberg, Germany, which was the homeland of many early settlers. The original town was established near the site of New Ulm Cemetery, one mile North of the present town of New Ulm. In 1892, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad Company of Texas laid tracks, streets and lots one mile South of the existing New Ulm for a new townsite, and settlers soon abandoned the former location.
The earliest recorded burial in New Ulm Cemetery is that of C. J. Schuette, who was interred in 1853. Also buried at New Ulm Cemetery is Josef Lidumil Lesikar, who was a leader in bringing early Czech settlers to America. The earliest land and burial records for New Ulm Cemetery were lost in a fire, but existing records show that the property was sold to the New Ulm Cemetery in 1889, and the New Ulm Cemetery Association was already in existence in 1915. A decoration day has been scheduled every year since at least 1919. The annual decoration day is still held, with services alternation between St. John Lutheran Church of New Ulm and the Industry United Methodist Church. Many improvements have been made to the cemetery throughout the years, including the construction of an impressive entrance in 1924, a storage building in 1933, and a chapel in 2002. Burials in New Ulm cemetery include veterans of the Civil War, World Wat I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
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