Cemeteries*

Bay Center Pioneer Cemetery Formerly known as The Old Bay Center Cemetery. Many Indian families are to be found here. There are numerous unmarked graves. The cemetery started out as a 185 x 216 foot area, and has expanded as the need for room arose. The cemetery had already been in use by the time the land was deeded. The first burial was above ground inside a white teepee, as it was the medicine man, Dr. Jack, who passed away. White settlers demanded the removal of Dr. Jack and the children buried in such a manner, then refused to use the site. It was deemed a cemetery from then on.

 
Chinookville Cemetery Chinookville WA was an Indian settlement that was occupied by the tribe of Chinook Indians, numbering in the few hundreds, by the time the Lewis and Clark had reached this part of their journey. In Chinookville the Hudson Bay Company had found a proper location for their trading post (1840), and had made well with their trading activities in this setting. Back in the early 1850s the township was named the county seat for a while. Although Chinookville, near Point Ellice, was a going concern in those early years, several visits from Mother Nature have now washed the area into the water. Chinookville hosts the oldest cemetery of the county. All burials here were before 1900, as far as known today, and the cemetery was known to have been fenced in at one time. After being washed away, it was all but forgotten until 1964, when the new land owner was grading a hillside and happened to hit a grave, unearthing the occupant. Comcomcally, an Indian chief, had two sons that were buried here, along with some thirty others. Below are the only other known burials.

 
Church Road Cemetery Brooklyn; Church Road, aka Henry Family Cemetery.  Located Sec 33, T14N, R9W, about two miles from South Bend.  The land for this cemetery was donated by the John HENRY family. To find the cemetery, look for a large stone along the road, on the east side.

 
Elk Creek Cemetery Located in Sec 16/17, T14N, R8W.  This cemetery was put to use when a mother missed her daughter. Jessie Barber had relocated to Elk Creek from Oregon, and felt bad about leaving the remains of her daughter in Oregon, so her husband went south to retrieve the "casket" and brought their daughter to their new home. The aunt was heard to have stated that the girl was buried in her own trunk, rather than a casket. The family buried her atop the ridge on their property.

 
Fir Grove Cemetery (Old Lebam Cemetery)  Lebam is a tiny community set back from the Willapa River on State Highway 6. The cemetery sits alongside the road. In May of 1891 the land was dedicated by James Blaine, Phillip Patton, and William F. Meloy.

 
Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.) 1631 Cemetery Located immediately North of the Riverside Cemetery in Raymond, on Washington Cemetery Road. T14N R8W Sec 17.  This cemetery was incorporated April 6, 1912. The trustees named were James Long and O.R. Pederson. Today this small cemetery is under tall evergreens, unkempt, and overgrown vines have hidden the fence. Many plots in the back are unnamed, the whole cemetery has been occupied at one time. Because the Eagles club no longer exists in the area, no one seems to know where any of the records are.

 
Giesy Family (Kiel Colony) Cemetery Located in Sec 3, T13N, R8W, on the west side of the highway. "The Keil Colony" left Missouri in May of 1855 for the Willapa Bay, WA. The colony was under the leadership of Dr. Wm. Keil, who chose his son, Willie, to head the wagon train out west. Just days before leaving, Willie died of malaria, so Dr. Keil placed him inside a lead-lined coffin filled with whiskey and sealed it shut, then put Willie's body in the front of the 35 unit train. In November of 1855 the wagon train arrived, intact, and Willie was buried the day after Christmas. Within a year, Dr. Keil decided Willapa Bay was not for him and the others, and they headed for Aurora, Oregon.

 
Holy Family Catholic Church Cemetery Located in T12N R7W Sec 1.  This cemetery has also been known as Holy Family Cemetery, Frances Cemetery and St. Joseph Cemetery. Deeded in 1893, this cemetery has many Swiss settlers here. A high proportion of tombstones have photographs than in any other cemetery in Pacific County. Vandals have been at work removing these photographs from the stones. A well-cared for cemetery, this is still in use today.

 
Ilwaco Cemetery Located in T10N R11W SE, Sec 27; Lat: 46° 19' 04"N, Lon: 124° 01' 18"W.  Drive east on Rte 101 from the township of Ilwaco, the cemetery is on the north side of State Route 101.

Ilwaco Cemetery began as a section of land offered for public burials by the Whealdon family, specifically Isaac and Mary Whealdon, in July of 1888. This transaction was in exchange for one U.S. dollar, offering 964 links by 79 links by 400 links, and ran along the Wallicut River. It was in this section of ground that the oldest part of the cemetery was used. All lots here were set to be 4 x 8 foot and were set up to include eight lots per block.

Many of the old burials have ornate stones, others were rather common to the area, and others, yet, were made of wood, and have now disappeared from sight. Pacific County, Washington, is a coastal county, and has a lot of salt in the air from the ocean, alongside the great amount of moisture from the common rainfall. This excessive moisture has done its deed with many of the markers here.

This cemetery contained 154 'unknowns' at last count. Some of the older burials have lost their markers, and due to the many shipwrecks in the area, sailors were oft times buried in this place. Some of these unknowns have been accounted for through local records, but only a mere handful.

The cemetery is owned and maintained by the community of Ilwaco, and it is fairly well cared for. It looks like it would be a challenge to maintain because all of the burials are quite crowded.

 
Lone Fir Cemetery

Long Beach.  Located at Lat: 46° 21' 44"N, Lon: 124° 01' 03"W in T10N R11W Section 10.  Drive east on Tarlatt Rd to the Peninsula Hwy, turn left and continue north to Sandridge Road, turn right, drive for less than a mile, you will find it south of you on Pioneer Rd. Jehu Scudder, donated the land for Lone Fir Cemetery and became the first grave in the cemetery in 1854, when he was killed on the way to the first Territorial Legislature.

 
Maple Hill I.O.O.F. Cemetery Maple Hill, aka Odd Fellows, Rebecca and Lebam IOOF Lodge #270 Cemetery. Location: Sec 33, T13N, R7W, on Robertson Road.  When Fir Grove Cemetery became too small to handle the burials, the land for the Maple Hill Cemetery was deeded by Robert L. Eubanks and George F. Dryman on 21 September 1909. It wasn't until 1916 that the land was dedicated. In 1931 this hillside cemetery was deeded to Rebecca Lodge, and it contained six acres.

 
New Bay Center Cemetery Located in Bay Center.

 

 
North Cove Cemetery

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 Located at Lat: 46° 44' 07"N, Lon: 124° 03' 48"W in T14N R11W Sec 5.  This well-maintained, small cemetery is located on State Route 105, about 6 miles south of Grayland. North Cove Pioneer Cemetery was established in 1892, it was eroded in 1977.  At one time there was a community of settlers in an area that now is under water. It was these pioneers that are now relocated to this cemetery, again in danger of being washed away. There are 8 unknowns here, one stone simply reads "M39." The other unknowns are marked as such. One man was found on the beach by Mr. Hook and a lifeboat crew in May 1897. One man was found on the beach from the wreck of the schooner Nora Harkins on 15 Oct 1894.  There's an unknown seaman from the schooner Mary Hawkens.

 
North River Cemetery Located at Lat: 46° 46' 31"N, Lon: 123° 29' 19"W in T15N, R7W Sec 24.  The cemetery is about a mile east of the community of Brooklyn on the south side of North River Valley Road. North River Cemetery, is aka Brooklyn and J.A. Burke Cemetery. There are two sections of this cemetery. J. Albert Burke had donated a location for a community cemetery on the left hand side of North River, close in to his orchard. Because of the rising waters, the bridge sometimes couldn't be used, so he later gave an acre on the other side of the river for the same useage. The latter plat was donated and used from 1910 on. On 14 Jan 1922 the land was sold for $25 in gold coin to RH and Edna Dillard, and ES and Grace Dillard, all of Vesta, Grays Harbor Co., WA. The graves of those that were buried at the old location were opened and the remains were transferred to the new cemetery. There are a number of unknowns here.

 
Ocean Park Cemetery Located in Ocean Park.  Back in 1876 this cemetery belonged to Washington Territory, and regulated in Clark Co OR. A quit claim deed was issued to John Henry and Augusta Pieper [sic] from Allen Stuerte [sic] and Allen Meeker, the latter being the trustees of this public burying ground. The Piepers sold it to the Taylor family (owners of the Taylor Hotel) in 1904, and in whose family it remained for many years. After the Taylors died, their daughter, Mrs. William (Adelaide) Begg took over the custody of said land, then passed it to her daughter, Mrs. William (Janet) Wineberg, who in turn had deeded it to the community. The cemetery is maintained today, and good use is made of this land. The cemetery is on a hillside that is on the northern end of town, to the east. Northbound on Hwy 103 to Bay Rd, natural turn onto Bay, turn right onto 'U' St to 260th, turn left into treeline. Of all burials in this cemetery, there are only 57 of those unmarked.

 
Oysterville Cemetery

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 Located at Lat: 46° 32' 52"N, Lon: 124° 01' 56"W in T12N, R11W, NE of NE Sec 9.  From the Peninsula Hwy in Oysterville drive south on Oysterville Cemetery Road, which will lead you to the cemetery on Davis Hill. In April 1854 the chief aided Isaac Clark and R.H. Espy in locating a bed of native oysters on the Willapa Bay for which the two men made considerable trade in CA, and experienced a great wealth. The community became a busy port, and prospered into the late 1880s. The town became the county seat, and was so until the courthouse was 'raided' by folk of South Bend. It was then that Oysterville became a ghost town, though there are yet residents of this interesting 100 acre township.

 
Salmon Creek Mill Graves Location: Salmon Creek enters into North River just before it enters into Willapa Bay at Sec. 26,T15N, R10W.  Some type of epidemic hit the mill workers and their families between 1853-54. At the mill sight there were five or six laid to rest under the pine trees, mostly children.

 
Saulsberry Graveyard Located in the SW 1/4 Sec 14, T15N, R9W. General Smith Creek area.  George W. Saulsberry purchased the above parcel from A.A. Gust on 27 Dec 1913. It is also stated that this is the parcel of land on which "several children and Mrs. Saulsberry" are buried. Alonzo F. Saulsberry bought land in Willapa in Aug of 1882 (lot 2, Sec 27, T14N, R8W), but this land was closer into town and is unlikely to be a sight for any type of burial. According to the history: "The settlement was so far from a doctor that several children died that might have been saved; they are buried somewhere on the overgrown homestead. Frank Saulsberry's mother is buried on what was his place. William Hastings made the coffin and used black cashmere that Mother had for a dress and covered it. We lined it inside with cotton and covered it with white sheeting. Mr. Saulsberry's wife (d/o Capt. Henry Whitcomb, a pioneer) had died a year earlier at her father's home in Willapa."

 
South Bend IOOF Cemetery Located in the SW 1/4 Sec 25 & NW 1/4 Sec 36, T14N, R9W.  In 1897 the land for this cemetery was deeded to the local lodge #33 in South Bend. The cemetery has all but gone to waste. Briars and tall grass/weeds cover the whole lot, and vandalism has occurred. Tombstones are marked with holes or pock shot marks, stones lay broken on the ground, and litter seems to find its way to rest along the perimeter of the cemetery. The plots were purchased by various fraternal organizations, but no family plots were sold.

 
Ward Creek Cemetery Located in Sec 22, T14N, R8W, half mile up Ward Creek on the east side of the road. This cemetery was used by the old settlers around the Ward Creek area. This small cemetery held a mere 15 graves, or less. By the mid 1970's there were only three stones left. It is assumed that all but three were moved to Fern Hill in Menlo.

 
Washington Cemetery Washington Cemetery has also been known as Riverside Cemetery. Section 18, Town 14 North, Range 8 West, in the present township of Raymond. The land for the cemetery was donated by Sarah Lamley in 1903, the wife of Job Lamley, first sheriff of Pacific County. When the Lamley's son, George, drowned in 1891, they buried him in the orchard on their farm, then later donated that parcel for a community cemetery. The cemetery is completely unkempt and is overgrown with myrtle, blackberry and fern. Many markers were originally of wood, which now are rotted away. Other markers no longer exist.

 
Wilsonville Cemetery Located in Section 4, T13N, R10W, at the mouth of the Palix River.  The township of Wilsonville is a mere thought of yesteryear for the old folk. What used to be a thriving township and community is now all private land. The cemetery used land previously owned by Daniel "Cougar" Wilson. In the mid-sixties there was known to be a fence surrounding the cemetery, but today there is no more public access.

*Cemetery narratives were provided by T. Sheldon, transcriber.