Hundreds of unmarked graves found in central Idaho cemetery

[Capn Sunshine]

Source: Associated

HAILEY, Idaho -- A survey of the Hailey Cemetery using ground-penetrating radar has found hundreds of unmarked graves.

Many of the unmarked graves in the 13-acre central Idaho cemetery are in a one-acre area referred to on maps as the "Chinese Cemetery."

Officials say a brush fire in the 1930s destroyed wood markers, and that another fire in town at a later date destroyed burial records.

Cemetery officials tell the Idaho Mountain Express they want to find unmarked graves to avoid digging in occupied ground.

The survey was conducted last summer and its results presented on Wednesday.



Read more: http://www.ktvb.com/home/Hundreds-of-unmarked-graves-found-in-central-Idaho-cemetery-69479422.html

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Anyone know about a large population of Chinese in Central Idaho? Is this from the railroads? Were they building near Hailey?

[sandnsea]

1. I think that was a mining camp

This is a fascinating discovery. There are a lot of cemeteries in the west that weren't marked well, before the late 1800s.

[Frank Cannon]

12. Yes, indeed. The Wood River mines.

And the railroad that went through Southern Idaho.

[Ian David]

2. You mean like in Canton, Ohio? n/t

[we can do it]

11. What?

[UpInArms]

3. some background

http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Clark-Fork,-and-Hope,-Idaho&id=2111357

In 1864 Congress granted the Northern Pacific Railroad a charter to build a line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound on a route north of the 45 parallel. In 1872, the Clark Fork Pend Oreille route was chosen. With the railroad came the people who established the towns of Clark Fork and Hope.

Railroads came to prominence in the 1880s, as local construction began on the northern transcontinental line in 1881. Trestle Creek, at more than a mile long, became the line's longest structure. It was at this time that Hope became the center of railroad activities and the largest city in the county. Along with Chinese Coolies, over 4,000 rough and ready railroad workers lived in a tent city along the Clark Fork River. Railroads brought people, and the lumber industry, which began to service the rails and trains, became the stalwart of the North Idaho economy for the next 100 years.

History of Hope, Idaho

At first Hope was just a stopping point along the railroad, but in 1890, the Northern Pacific moved its division point west from Montana to the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Hope was incorporated on July 17, 1891. East Hope was incorporated on June 28th 1902. Hope was a busy port in its early days. Steamboats crossed the lake carrying supplies and mail to mining sites around the shore before roads were built. The boats were used to carry supplies up the Clark Fork River to Cabinet Gorge while the railroad was being constructed. The lake had long supported a fishing fleet, bringing in tons of fish every day. The populations were decimated by the introduction of tiny krill. The Federal government added these small shrimp in an attempt to increase fish populations; the experiment had the opposite effect. Recent years have seen a small recovery in fish populations, and now Hope is the center of some fine sports fishing.

[Capn Sunshine]

4. Maybe that's it

Funny how there was no need felt at the time to replace the grave markers using the records that were available then.

[uncle ray]

5. they probably had no money at the time.

[AllentownJake]

6. Great Depression

Probably not much concern with the dead...espicially if the dead wasn't anglo

[imdjh]

10. The eastern seaboard is blanketed with unmarked graves for pretty much the same reason as this.

Between natural events and the War, the wooden markers have rotted away. Some of the headstones have fallen in to graves, others have been deliberately knocked over by vandals, farmers, and developers. Some headstones were taken (stolen or otherwise) from old graves and used as footings, steps, or walkways by people with less respect for the dead than need for a nice flat piece of stone.

I have many missing family graves even though we have several preserved family cemeteries in addition to those buried in churches. A lot of the records have been lost or destroyed in courthouse and church fires, accidental and deliberate. Wooden markers were used a lot in coastal areas prior to the 19th century.

[janx]

7. The Hope/Sandpoint area is far to the north though,

in the panhandle. I love that area and have spent some time there! Is there some connection between Hope and Hailey? :shrug: Am I missing something?

[sandnsea]

8. Hailey ID is near Ketchum, east of Boise

Hope Id is up in the Panhandle near Sandpoint.

I don't get the connection.

[IndianaGreen]

9. K&R

:kick:

[idahoblue]

13. Hailey, Idaho

I live in Hailey, just a short walk down the bike trail to the cemetery. It is a curiosity that there are large areas in the old cemetery that have no grave markers. Those that are there are not in line, they seem to be scattered about. I have read that in the early days, a nice place was chosen for a grave without concern for layout, it was just a plot of land that started out as a traditional burying place to become official later on.

Last year, the cemetery board had a ground-penetrating radar survey of the cemetery done. It turned up hundreds of unmarked graves, particularly in a one-acre area at the south end referred to on plat maps as the "Chinese Cemetery. The wood-and-paper markers that once marked Chinese graves in the cemetery were destroyed in a brush fire in the 1930s. Most likely the grave markers of transient miners and poor people were also wood. The survey results also showed apparent burials under asphalt roadways and in an old canal that once ran diagonally across the cemetery but was filled in long ago. Several unmarked graves showed up in the "Masons Cemetery". One high-amplitude reading came from the northeast corner, an area thought to be empty of graves.

In the early days Hailey residents simply picked a nice spot under the cottonwood trees that grew on the site to bury their loved ones. Those graves were not organized in any way but were placed randomly. I was walking around looking for fall, 1918 gravestones and surprisingly, found none. But it was interesting to note that there could be a line of a few headstones then the next one would be turned 180 degrees the other way. I could not just walk up and down the lines of grave markers.

Another fire that later swept portions of the town destroyed burial records associated with the site. I cannot imagine why they did not try to immediately try to reconstruct the lost records. Maybe by then, no one knew who any of those in the unmarked graves were still around. Miners tended to be single men and transient without any strong local ties. The Chinese were gone by 1900 so they would have no one here to reconstruct their history.

This is an area of hard rock mining, not the type of work the Chinese wanted to do. They were cooks, gardeners,ran laundries, cut firewood, etc. They were present in the Wood River Valley from the 1870's and were pretty much gone by the early 1890's. The population in Hailey was probably never more than 200. It doesn't seem like there would be that many Chinese graves here.

Hailey is not a "mining camp". It is a town in the Wood River Valley and was on the Oregon Short Line Railroad spur to Ketchum (now a bike/ski trail). It is the county seat of Blaine County, the only Democratic county in Idaho. The history started as mining (silver, lead,antinomy, zinc), then sheep ( in 1918, only Syndey, Australia had more sheep) and now tourism. The best skiing and mountain biking anywhere, as well as art and culture. We are 12 miles south of Sun Valley, 20 miles from the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, 150 miles east of Boise. Cut off the panhandle (including Hope) and we are in the middle of what's left.

I have no idea how Hope, ID got in this discussion. Your can't even get there from here. Anyone heard of Google Maps or Mapquest? How did this bit of news pop up all of a sudden on DU? I find it interesting but why would anyone else care? There will be more to the story as they continue to research the graves revealed by the radar survey. I will post again if there is anything interesting.

http://www.visitsunvalley.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=1603

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005126357