Laurel Cemetery

GPS Coordinates: 33.542218, -117.222138
County: Riverside
Record count: 2,315

Ownership: Laurel Cemetery is owned and operated by Murrieta Valley Cemetery District.

Directions: From Historic Downtown Murrieta, at the corner of Washington & Ivy Street, head west along Ivy Street (heading towards the mountains) for 1.5 miles. The cemetery is located on the left-hand side (east side) of Ivy Street, just past Joshua Tree Ct.

Background: Laurel Cemetery was established in 1886 when a group of Murrieta residents with the Murrieta Historical Society bought it from the Temecula Land & Water Company. However, burials had taken place on the property for much longer.

The land was part of a ranch owned by Joaquin Murrieta. The earliest known burial was a baby buried in 1863. Other early settlers had been buried there too. In 1884, Joaquin Murrieta sold his ranch to the Temecula Land & Water Company. Concerned that the small graveyard would be parceled off and sold to someone else, some town residents bought it from the Company in 1886.

The town of Murrieta began using and caring for the cemetery. It wasn't until 1913 that the Murrieta Historical Society sought to identify the owner of the cemetery, not being sure if they owned it, or someone else. In 1915, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors made a motion to place the cemetery in the hands of the Murrieta Historical Society.

In 1938, after the Historical Society struggled to find funds for the maintenance of Laurel Cemetery, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors formed the Murrieta Valley Cemetery District, and placed the cemetery in its hands, providing access to County and State financial aid.

Transcriptions

We have 2 transcriptions for this cemetery.

• Cemetery District Database, compiled by Interment.net, May 16, 2016, (1,670 records)
• Tombstone Transcription, compiled by Ryan Hoyt, July 7, 2001, (645 records)