History of Central Valley and Whiskeytown Cemeteries

 

Central Valley Cemetery - A Hidden Treasure

By Robert Frazier

At the end of Boca St., off of Black Canyon Rd. in the City of Shasta Lake (AKA Central Valley) hidden behind the homes, lays a unique and magnificent slice of Shasta County history not many know exist.  Amongst the majestic oaks and manzanita sits the Central Valley Cemetery, the final resting place of 306 Native and non-native pioneers who were moved from 26 cemeteries now under the deep water of Shasta Lake.

The Bureau of Reclamation, the constrictors of the Central Valley Project, were so detailed in the construction of Shasta Dam, plans included the removal, transfer and reinternment of human remains from endangered cemeteries, to two new cemeteries, created by the Bureau of Reclamation.  The Bureau named the cemeteries, The Central Valley (C.V.), and the United States Shasta Reservoir Indian (Indian) cemeteries, which sit adjacent to one other, only divided by a dirt road named Central Ave, with the C.V. Cemetery on the south end and the Indian Cemetery to the north.

Established in 1941, the C.V. Cemetery, for nonnative burials was handed over to Shasta County in 1942 and is now operated by the Shasta County Coroner’s Office and burials are no longer permitted, since the cemetery if full, with the last burial occurring in 1999.[1]  A total of 348 grave sites occupy the property, along four streets named: Kennet Ave. and Redding Drive running East and West and Copper City Drive ad Shasta Ave. running North and South.

Block #	# of Graves Sites
14	80
15	136
16	44
17	44
18	44
Total	348

Block #	# of Graves Sites
1	56
2	56
3	56
4	36
5	36
6	36
7	36
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
Total	528

         Table 1: Number of Graves in CV Cemetery

Table 2: Number of Grave Sites in Indian Cemetery

An Act of Congress established the Indian Cemetery on July 30^th 1941, and the cemetery is still owned by the Federal Government but beautifully maintained by the local native tribes.  The Indian cemetery is organized by original cemetery names with a sign in each section with the cemetery name painted on it.  Even the streets are named after the now flooded cemeteries: Radcliff Ave, Campbell Ave, Silverthorn Ave, and Antler Drive run North and South, while Curl Ave, Popejoy Ave., Elmore Ave. and Charles Ave. run East and West.  The Indian Cemetery as per the terms of the Act (55 Stat. 612), “The title to the Indian Cemetery is hold in trust by the United States for the burial of Indians only and without charge for burial privileges and shall not be taxable.” [2] Native people are still buried in the Indian Cemetery today under these same privileges.

January 5^th 1942, a contract (I1r-1373) between the Shasta County Board of Supervisors, who held jurisdiction over all cemeteries outside the city limits of Redding, as per the Health and Safety Code of California at the time, and E.K. Burlew the First Assistance Secretary of the Interior was enacted.  As per the contract the Shasta County Board of Supervisors signed over all rights, title and interest to all existing public cemeteries within the Shasta Reservoir area, but in return given the Central Valley Cemetery to Shasta County.  As part of the contract the United States also agreed to file with the Country recorder a plat map of C.V. Cemetery complete with lots, blocks, streets, avenues, clear the cemetery to make it suitable for interment, remove and reinter all human remains from the Shasta Reservoir area and reinter into new cemeteries unless claimed by relatives to be reinterned elsewhere, to pay all cost expanses, and to file a record of all reinternments to the Shasta County Recorder.[3]

On February 9^th 1942, Shasta County Superior Court Judge Albert F. Ross ordered (No. 12013) the authorization of Joseph B. Mashburn of The Madera Funeral Home, Undertaker, Embalmer and Funeral Director, who contracted with the Bureau of Reclamation, to remove all remains from the Shasta Reservoir area and reintern the removed remains to either C.V. or the Indian Cemeteries unless otherwise instructed by a relative of the diseased, and to keep delegate record of each person he removed and reinterned.  In correlation with the removal of remains, the Bureau of Reclamation employed Joseph L. Cooper as an Inspector during the removal and reinternment of remains. Cooper took diligent records of the condition of the grave and any contents associated with each grave, to make sure the contents were reinterned with the remains.  There were a few cases where the family kept the contents.[4]  Mashburn made every effect to identify each person’s remains and locate any living relatives.  If a relative was found they were to sign a consent form indicating their wishes for burial location.[5]  Finding relatives became a challenge due to the length in time the person had passed and the fact these were mining towns, where a lot of men left their families and came alone to mine.

Between February 11^th 1942 and March 23^rd 1942, Mashburn removed 309 remains from 26 cemeteries in the Shasta Reservoir area and reinterned 306 in the C.V. and Indian cemeteries and marked each grave with a lot and block number.  There were 134 nonnative remains reinterned into C.V. Cemetery and 172 Natives reinterned in in the Indian Cemetery.  Out of the 309 remains, 88 were unknown and could not be identified.  Only three remains were collected by relatives and reinterned elsewhere:  David Porter Miles (1849-1899) a popular merchant from Copper City, who was originally in the Copper City Cemetery, was claimed by his son in law Clifford Samuel Eaton and reinterned at the Redding Cemetery, Carlo Cerro from Kennett Cemetery was claimed by G. Cerro and reinterned in the Redding Catholic Cemetery, and J. W. Walker from Copper City Cemetery was claimed by Henry Walker and shipped to Kirkwood, California.[6]

The 26 Cemeteries were:

#	Cemetery	Native / Non-Native Cemetery	Native	Non-Native	Identified	Unidentified (Unknown)
1	Crouch	Both	4	1	4	1
2	Carrittini	Both	2	2	0	4
3	Slug Dump	Non-Native	0	10	1	9
4	Strowbridge	Non-Native	0	1	1	0
5	Kennett	Non-Native	0	66	33	33
6	Pit	Native	13	0	11	2
7	Pig	Non-Native	0	1	1	0
8	Elmore	Native	6	0	13	0
9	Young / Tuna		7
10	Old Antler	Native	8	0	3	5
11	New Antler	Native	17	0	17	0
12	Reppart	Non-Native	0	1	1	0
13	Baird	Native	22	0	21	1
14	Radcliff	Native	10	0	10	0
15	Wycotte	Native	6	0	6	0
16	Curl	Native	21	0	21	0
17	Treats Pasture	Native	9	0	8	1
18	Old Campbell	Native	3	0	1	2
19	New Campbell	Both	10	2	12	0
20	Nosona	Native	1	0	1	0
21	Copper City	Both	1	26	12	15
22	Popejoy	Both	6	2	8	0
23	De larmar	Both	0	19	6	13
24	Silverthorn	Native	27	2	27	2
25	Reno canyon	Non-Native	0	1	1	0
26	Brock	Both	1	1	2	0
	Total		174	135	221	88

 Thorough and complete records were kept and recorded with the Shasta County Recorder on December 28^th 1942.  The records were named, “History of Cemeteries, Shasta Reservoir Area, Central Valley Project, Kennett Division” and took up two volumes.  Shasta Historical Society is in possession of these two volumes.  Each one of the 26 cemeteries were listed, directions, townships, details, maps and who was removed were written down, along with any consent forms from relatives.

      Shasta Dam was not the only project in the Central Valley Project where a cemetery that was endangered of being flooded was moved and saved in Shasta County.  Twenty years later in 1961-62, Whiskeytown Cemetery was established off of Paige Bar Rd. inside the Whiskeytown National Park, to take place of the cemetery in the town of Whiskeytown, now under Whiskeytown Lake.  There were 49 remains and their contents removed and reinterned into the new cemetery.  The oldest known grave is that of C. & B.E. Farrington's children, Susan and Ada, who passed in 1859 [7] Whiskeytown Cemetery is a magical place where families decorate their loved one's plots any way they like. The cemetery was a whimsical feeling to ir and holds a special place throughout the community. The cemetery was hit pretty hard by the Carr Fire f 2018, but the cemetery is so beloved by the community, hundreds of volunteers showed up as soon as they were allowed in to reconstruct graves and clean up debris. Burials are no longer allowed at Whiskeytown Cemetery as per the Shasta County Coroner's Office who now run the Cemetery.

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[1] Shasta County Coroner’s office

[2] R.S. Calland from Bureau of Reclamation to Mrs. Winona V. Simmons, County Recorder, 22 Nov. 1942, Letter, Box 1, History of Cemeteries Shasta Reservoir Area Central Valley Project Kennett Division Volume I, Shasta Historical Society, Redding.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Josep18h B. Mashburn, Report of Joseph B. Mashburn, 1942, Box 1, History of Cemeteries Shasta Reservoir Area Central V19alley Project Kennett Division Volume I, Shasta Historical Society, Redding.

20

[5] Ibi17d.

[6] I21bid.

[7] Whiskeytown National Park, Historic Resource Study, “Whiskeytown Cemetery Gravestones”, 12 Oct. 1974, https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/whis/hrs/appe.htm.