Davenport Cinema

The first attempt to established a crematorium in Davenport occurred in 1880, four years after the first crematorium opened in the United States. There was little to show for this effort until 1885 when the Northwestern Cremation Society, later renamed the Davenport Cremation Society, was established. The society sold stock to raise funds and in 1889 commissioned prominent local architect, Frederick G. Clausen, to design a building. The following year they purchased land from the West Davenport Cemetery Association, now known as Fairmount Cemetery. The facility opened in 1891 and the first cremation was that of Otto Kochert on May 15 of that year. The crematorium was the first in the state…