The first cemetery at Cherry and Ringgold Streets was organized by the Creston Cemetery Ass'n on August 1, 1874, and was abandoned in 1880. Graceland Cemetery opened in 1881, and its first burial took place on February 2, 1881. All bodies and stones from the abandoned cemetery were then moved to Graceland Cemetery. On June 8, 1903, the city of Creston purchased Graceland Cemetery, and it was operated by the City Council until July 7, 1930, when the Council created a Board of Trustees and delegated all powers to that board. On December 7, 1942, twenty additional acres of land were purchased, seven acres of which have been developed into memorial gardens.