A small cemetery that serviced the early downriver Catholic community of Ecorse.  

 

St. Francis Xavier Cemetery is a prime example of a cemetery that began life far out in the country, but after years of city growth, it was surrounded by homes.  Today it is a square of grass and grave markers in the middle of rows of houses between two busy city arteries, Jefferson Avenue and Southfield Road.

 

Father Gabiel Richard founded St. Francis Xavier parish as a mission of At. Anne's Church in Detroit for the early Catholics of the Downriver area. The only Catholic priest from 1806 to 1821, Fr. Richard pastored about 500 families spread along the eastern shores of the Detroit River, from Ecorse to Port Huron.

 

The cemetry is administered by the parish of St. Andre Bessett Parish in Ecorse. 

 

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