The year was 1891 and the cremation movement in America was in its infancy. In a number of locations throughout the country, groups of individuals had come together to support the movement and to discuss the building of crematories in their towns. This was not only prevalent in the larger U.S. cities. Smaller towns and locales throughout the country had their own proponents of cremation - and one such town was Davenport, Iowa.
In Davenport, the cremation movement was mostly supported by the German-Americans that inhabited the city. Their support was strong enough to garner the Fairmount Cemetery to grant the sale of a parcel of their land to build a crematorium. Work began in 1890 and the facility was completed the following year.
The retort of the crematorium, located in the building's basement.