To reach the cemetery drive west out of Newport on Hwy 2 for about
a mile. The highway curves southwest just about the time you will
see the cemetery off to your right. It is tricky to spot, until
you have been there a few times. Turn right onto 7th St for about
a block, to the entrance on 7th & Cemetery Road.
This cemetery began in 1902 by the Oddfellows. After many years
they were unable to continue managing it. I do not have details
of the in between time. It is now owned and maintained by Pend
Oreille Cemetery District #1. If one wishes assistance finding
a headstone, it would be best to phone ahead of time and make
an appointment, since there is only one person at the cemetery
to help people.
I can easily say is is very well maintained. Stacy, the one in
charge at the cemetery in 2004, told me that it was let run down
for a time, but slowly it is being brought back to a good condition.
There are about 8,000 gravesites at present in this cemetery and
about 3/4 of them are filled. Some of these are unknown, many
others are without markers, or reserved to be used when needed.
I found many funeral home markers set in a cement stone for markers.
I imagine it is a less expensive way to have a marker which lasts
a while. Another thing I noticed was the large number of couples
married over 50 and 60 years on those with markers.
When my first transcription from headstones resulted in so many
missing records, on Mar 16, 2004 I returned to the cemetery office
and copied all of the records in the sexton book. The last months
I have been going through those and adding to what I transcribed.
I do not feel all that good about the results, I might have duplications
and errors, since the sexton files sometimes had a nickname for
the person, or the stone had the nickname and the legal name was
in the records, and the spelling was not always accurate. Difficult
to know unless the dates match exactly what I was working with
at times. A few pages in the book were illegible, so I could not
compare those names. There were no records for some burials, and
in a few cases inaccurate records.
At the present time they are keeping good records, and we just
have to accept what is or is not there. I can only say, I did
my best, so do compare what is here with other records to be sure.
Usually if they differed, I added the sexton record in parenthesis.
As a rule it is the headstone reading unless there is a double
asterisk ** following the entry. Those entries are from the sexton
files only and have no headstone or marker.
I compared my reading with one published in Tombstone Inscriptions
for Pend Oreille County pub. 1976 by EWGS. I have placed an asterisk
* after about 20 entries added from this reading, which I did
not find a marker for or record in the sexton files.
When I returned to copy the records Mar 16, 2004, Stacy was pleased
to show me they were adding another area to the cemetery which
was being platted, and will be needed very soon. They also have
constructed a new building to facilitate the storage of equipment,
which will allow enlarging the office space in the present building,
and hopefully create room for a computer and other items to make
record keeping easier and more efficient.
Please contact me if you have proof of an error I made. I am
always happy to correct it if need be. Some entries were difficult
to follow across the page, so it is possible I could have incorrect
burial information on some.
My grandson, Thomas Morris, and I walked this cemetery on Aug
11-12, 2003. We each used a digital camera to accomplish this.
I have a photo of all of the stones and markers which were legible
up to that date. These records now are complete up to Feb 24,
2007, with additions dated after Aug 2003 being from the sexton
files.
- Maggie Rail
Legend:
sss, shared surname stone
s/w empty = double stone, one side is empty
s/w = stone with
s/by = stone by, usually matched
FH = Funeral Home
OES = Order of Eastern Star
* = no headstone or marker, 1976 reading
** = no headstone, sexton files
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