Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laurel Hill Cemetery in Neligh was named for its beautiful laurel trees. They were destroyed by a storm in 1964. The soldier statue in Laurel Hill is inscribed “In memory of soldiers and sailors of all wars, G.A.R. 1861-1865.” At the foot of the monument are the graves of soldiers of the Civil War.

White Buffalo Girl, the second burial in Laurel Hill Cemetery, daughter of Black Elk and Moon Hawk of the Ponca Indian Tribe, died May 23, 1877. The tribe was en route from Ponca Creek to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. At the funeral service, Black Elk made this request, “I want the Whites to respect the grave of my child just as they do the graves of their own dead. The Indians don’t like to leave the graves of their ancestors, but we had to move and we hope it is for the best. I leave the grave to your care. I may never see it again.”