These settlers, primarily from Ohio, but also from Ontario and other parts of Michigan, were drawn by the promise of inexpensive land in the Homestead Act of 1860.

[2] In 1867, Daniel and Mille Cummins Porter, who had arrived in Mecosta County in 1861, purchased a 120-acre farm which included the cemetery land.

In 1896, Aaron and Joanna Morgan bequeathed a half-acre parcel of land to the West Wheatland Union Cemetery Association.

Monuments include a range of styles seen in the Midwest, and are constructed from marble, sandstone, limestone, granite, fieldstone, and concrete.

A number of early markers display Christian symbolism, including a weeping willow, flowers and foliage, doves, and clasped hands.