he Scandia Cemetery is located near the former site of the Scandia Baptist Church. The church was located near present-day Islandview Golf Course, just east of Lake Waconia. The cemetery houses the Andrew Peterson family plot.
Founding of the Scandia Baptist Church and Cemetery
The Scandia Baptist Church was founded in 1855, with the first service held in Andrew Peterson’s cabin on August 1. A church building was later constructed near the present-day cemetery site. In 1859, Ellen and Andrew Bergquist contributed a plot of land for cemetery use, just southeast of where the church stood. The burial ground was enlarged in 1882, via another land donation made by the Bergquist’s neighbors, Peter and Sophia Johnson. On December 4, 1882, Andrew Peterson went to Waconia to have a deed written for the cemetery, which he filed on December 30 in Chaska.
The Scandia Baptist Church Cemetery over the Years
As services continued to be held at the Scandia Baptist Church, the cemetery was used as a burial site for local residents. In 1955, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the church, the cemetery was given an ornamental archway. The archway was given by Otto-Wilhelm Lundsted, who presented it on behalf of himself and his (deceased) twin sister, Alice Linder. Because the small size of the Scandia Baptist Church building limited potential growth of the congregation, the building was taken on October 16, 1973 from its foundation and moved to the Bethel College Campus in St. Paul. Though the church building is gone, its cemetery remains and continues to serve its purpose.
The Scandia Cemetery to this Today
The Scandia Cemetery still remains where it was first built, in what is now in modern-day Waconia. A golf course and clubhouse currently occupy the former site of the Scandia Baptist Church, with the cemetery sitting south of the clubhouse (across the township road). Within the cemetery, a single stone with individual foot markers point out the resting place of Andrew Peterson. Peterson’s children lay in adjacent cemetery plots, with the exception of Josephine, whose grave is located just a few rods away. The cemetery also holds the graves of most of the church pioneers, and their families. The Scandia Baptist Cemetery Association is currently in charge of the maintenance and operation of the cemetery.
Mihelich, Josephine Andrew Peterson and the Scandia Story. Minneapolis, MN: Ford Johnson Graphics, 1984.
