HISTORIC CEMETERIES - The City and Borough of Juneau

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Douglas Highway at Cemeteries, ca. 1935 - Service Roadto Cemeteries on LeftAlaska RoadCommission Collection; # 61-38-4960Courtesy oftheAlaska State Historical LibraryThere wereno morticians as we know themtoday. Cabinet shops were established thatincluded the making of furniture and caskets. The owners ofthese shops became theundertakers for the town. Advertisements were in the Douglas Island News reading"Undertaking ... Manufacturers of Furniture, Carpentering, Jobbing, Store & Office Fixtures."Others read, "Douglas Undertaking Parlors, Funeral Directors and Embalmers." Some ofthese undertakers were H.V. Sully, J.A McKanna, T.P. Sheldon, and L.G. and Merle Thomas.Some of the deceased were shipped to Juneau to C'W.Young and Charles W. Carter and thenreturned to Douglas for burial.Recent DevelopmentsAn undetermined number of graves in the Servian, Asian, and Native cemeteries were movedwhenthe Bureau of Public Roads constructed Douglas Highway to Cowee Creek in 1934. Anews article stated that the bodies were interred in the present City Cemetery. In 1967, dueto a road project, eight graves containing 13 bodies in the Douglas Indian Cemetery wereremoved and interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Juneau. In 1972 graves were disturbed at theEagles Cemetery due to the widening of Douglas Highway. About 25 graves were moved toAlaska Memorial Park in the Mendenhall Valley. The exactnumber of burial sites disturbedor moved is difficult to document as the records are not readily accessible or don't exist.In July of 1979 foundations were beingconstructed for a private home allegedly on thewestern edge of the City Cemetery. A group of Douglas residents were extremely upset andtried to halt construction. The attorney for the individuals said there was no evidence that thesite was part of the Douglas Cemetery, eventhough the house is surrounded by graves.Investigations were made by the Alaska State Troopers and the State Attorney General'soffice. An archaeologist was also called in. to investigate. It was later proved that the housewas not within the cemetery boundaries.Inventory and Survey ofHistoric Cemeteries in Douglas, Alaska Page 16
Theproofsought was a quiet title action, dated in 1964, by the O.T. Corporation versus theCity of Douglas that indicated the land was not part of a cemetery. In thejudgement anddecree of the court the O.T.CorPoration got title to the lot which was eventually sold. Thelot was described as adjacent to but not in a cemetery. The owners of the property inquestion reportedly took extraordinary measures to make certain there was no problem.During the controversy, numerous Douglas residents turned outto clean away the brush anddebris in the Douglas Cemetery. Residents also asked the Borough Assembly to stop theconstruction project, but this request was turned down,In the early 1970's the City and Borough of Juneau agreed to survey cemetery land inDouglas as part of an effort to investigate, clear title to the property, and gather informationto acquire, survey and maintain the cemeteries. One assemblyman agreed that an inventoryshould be made and that the city should assume responsibility for the Douglas land. It waseven suggested that additional land around the cemetery be purchased to accommodate newburial sites. It was also suggested that individuals who had relatives in the cemetery be askedto maintain the grave sites. or donate money to have them maintained. The Ross Estate wasto be contacted and asked for transfer of ownership of the cemetery land. If they could notbe contacted, a quiet title action was to be initiated and the grave sites were to be inventoried.It has been a source of confusion who are the executers of the Ross Estate. Attempts to reachthemby mail have been fruitless as the address is in care of general delivery in Douglas andno one in recent times has come for this mail. There is no evidence that the Ross Estate wasever contacted andthe quiet title action has never been completed.Current ConditionsOver the years the cemeteries have received varying amounts of maintenance. The Eagles,Catholic and Native Cemeteries have been kept weeded. The others are overgrown withfems, alders, and salmonberry bushes. Generally there has been no attempt to protect andpreserve the graves or headstones, except by a few dedicated individuals. In 1994 theDouglas Lions Club madethe City Cemetery a service project to clean the area andpreservethe existing markers. Theworkcontinues in 1995.Although there were no plan drawings found in the research of the cemeteries it appears thatsome planning went into the layout of the plots in the individual cemeteries. Plots appear tobe laid out in rows generally parallel to the channel. Graves are positioned with the headtoward the mountains andthe feet toward Gastineau Channel.Most headstones are deteriorating except the metal ones which have some evidence ofvandalism. Numerous tablets and headstones are face down or on their side. None werefound with footstones. Most of the stones are covered with moss or lichen that have etchedand obscured the inscriptions. Only two original wood markers were discovered, howevermany wood markers have been replaced especially in the Eagles Cemetery. The only gravehouses were located in the Douglas Indian Cemetery.Inventory and Survey ofHistoric Cemeteries in Douglas, Alaska Page 17
Page 1: Report ofthe Survey andInventory of
Page 6 and 7: TABLE OF CONTENTSAcknowledgementsFo
Page 9 and 10: FOREWORDIn July of 1994 the City an
Page 11 and 12: preserve these resources for their
Page 13 and 14: Assessor's office, local newspapers
Page 15 and 16: VICINITY MAPTr.CH-1TractFCrow Hill
Page 17 and 18: October of 1880 that they found any
Page 19 and 20: Doctors and dentists practiced in a
Page 21 and 22: Douglas Highway at Cemeteries, ca.
Page 23: FIDld drives began in 1900 to raise
Page 28 and 29: mSTORIC SITES SUMMARY STATEMENTDoug
Page 30 and 31: Some of the prominent persons burie
Page 32 and 33: citations. Additional unidentified
Page 34 and 35: Some of the prominent persons burie
Page 36 and 37: Seman CemeteryEstablished 1902AHRSN
Page 38 and 39: One person buried in this cemetery
Page 40 and 41: DOUGLAS . INDIAN CEMETERY16DOUGLAS
Page 43 and 44: CEMETERIESMAP.··KEY~TH TRACT E1GR
Page 45 and 46: ISURVEY.SHEETSite Name: Catholic Ce
Page 47 and 48: ISURVEYSHEETSite Name: Eagles Cemet
Page 49 and 50: ISURVEY SHEETSite Name: City Cemete
Page 51 and 52: ISlJRVEY.SHEETSite Name: Odd Fellow
Page 53 and 54: ISlJRWY SIIEETSite Name: Masons Cem
Page 55 and 56: ISURVEYSIIEETSite Name: Servian Cem
Page 57 and 58: ISURVEY.SHEETSite Name: Native Ceme
Page 59 and 60: ISURVEY SIIEETSite Name:Asian Cemet
Page 61 and 62: ISURVEY SHEETSite Name: Russian Ort
Page 63 and 64: Based.onthe information provided by
Page 65 and 66: Even though a couple of cemeteries
Page 67 and 68: Dynes' Alaska1921 SotItheflst Alask

HISTORIC CEMETERIES - The City and Borough of Juneau

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