In the early 1800s, French traders and Dakota families buried their loved ones in what became known as the Old French Cemetery, just south of the Treaty Rock site. Early settlers and traders often buried the dead close to home, marking resting places in the yards, fields, or wooded edges where they lived. Only the Old French Cemetery is remembered of these early sites, and even that is unmarked by visible graves. The members of the early Nicollet County communities prioritized a common place to bury their dead. In March 1856, a group of citizens from Traverse des Sioux and St. Peter met to consider purchasing land to serve both towns. Soon after, ten acres of land were bought for $150. Greenlawn Cemetery was platted in July 1856.

The remains of many early Traverse des Sioux Presbyterian missionaries, including Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, are buried within this cemetery. A few gravestones are for the victims of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota Conflict. Other early pioneers and several Civil War veterans also have their final resting place here. However, a substantial number of the grave sites have no surviving marker.

After other cemeteries closer to St. Peter were platted, many lots in Greenlawn Cemetery were abandoned, and some graves were possibly removed. The cemetery is still periodically used for burials, but its peak use was from 1856 to the 1880s.

There are also at least 100 graves just south of the present cemetery fence. Buried here are people who died of epidemic diseases, wounds, and other causes during the 1862 U.S.-Dakota Conflict as the refugees crowded into St. Peter. The graves were originally marked with wooden crosses. However, a prairie fire destroyed the markers in 1920, and there is no known written record of who is buried there.