Bothell Pioneer Cemetery offers life stories
Scattered among tall trees and toadstools, engravings on old headstones offer bits of stories. Or, in the case of stones with engravings eroded by weather and time, they invite visitors to imagine their own tales.
The Bothell cemetery has rested quietly since 1889 on a wooded hill at Valley View Road and 108th Avenue Northeast.
Early settlers used the road that bisects the cemetery to get to a neighborhood they called "Stringtown," on the way to Woodinville. Now a utility road, it ends at a gate that separates the cemetery from the University of Washington, Bothell/Cascadia Community College campus.
A sign at the entrance trumpeting the cemetery's listing on the National Register of Historic Places — such a listing is rare for cemeteries — reminds visitors of its importance.
One of the state's 1,000 pioneer cemeteries, the property houses the graves of many notable people.
But once inside, the graveyard's modesty, with its scattered plots, mossy stones and stands of fir trees, welcomes explorers.
The best way to explore is with a leisurely stroll, beginning in any direction that suits you.
"There's all kinds of stories about these families," said local historian Sue Kienast, on a recent walk through the grounds.
In one corner, a stone column marks the grave of the town's namesake family.
The cemetery is dotted with the formidable markers, which were popular through the early 1900s, when flat headstones became the trend.
David Bothell was the first man to plat the town in 1885. George Bothell, the town's first mayor, and other Bothells are buried there, too.
A few yards away, another monolith offers more information than simply birth and death dates of the cemetery's founder.
Early pioneer George Rutter Wilson provided a half acre for the cemetery. In 1902, he transferred the land to the Odd Fellows Lodge, and in 1990, the city took over the cemetery.
Wilson's stone notes that he arrived in the Puget Sound area in 1863, aboard the ship Orion. According to local history books, he traveled up the Sammamish River and staked out land for his home in 1870.
But upon returning to the area — now Bothell — after several months, he found another man living on his property.
The England native built a cabin next door, where he lived as a bachelor and tended to his renowned rose garden.
Across the property, another headstone pays tribute to the region's nature — and logging industry. The stone tree trunk sprouts out of the cemetery grounds, covered in carved vines and real moss.
Andi MacDonald, president of the Washington State Cemetery Association, said markings on headstones reveal much about the deceased.
MacDonald founded the cemetery association to help preserve historic cemeteries and collect information about them. Due to her own terminal illness, as well as a lack of volunteers and money, the association is shutting down soon.
"The [headstone] symbols are as important or more important than the wording," she said.
Firemen had specific symbols engraved on their stones, as did masons. Such details can lead genealogists to other places for records about people.
Children's graves were decorated, too, usually with symbols of innocence in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Bothell cemetery is noted for its many children's graves. Some are adorned with lambs and angels. While others, such as the one marked "Baby Brandt, 1925," are plain, and much smaller than the parents' headstones.
Kneeling next to one mossy marker, Kienast attempted to read the wording on the grave of two children, both of whom died in 1889.
Many believe that Maybelle and Freddie Lufkin were the first people buried at the Bothell cemetery.
Those enticed by mystery should note the cemetery's unmarked graves, the stones that are too old to read and the markers hidden among shrubs and vines.
One shrine, resting in the roots of an old tree, is particularly curious.
"I wonder what this is," Kienast said, noting the decorative, rusty fence that squared off a patch of dirt. There is no name, only a few dead flowers propped up between two stones.
In the crisp air of a fall day, the cemetery is less a scary place reserved for teenage dares, and more one of quiet connection to a common past.
An advocate for such places, MacDonald knows this.
"[Cemeteries] let you know that your history is important," she said. "[They] give you a feeling of belonging."
Kelly Kearsley: (206) 464-2112 or kkearsley@seattletimes.com.
Exploring the Eastside is an occasional series spotlighting the Eastside's special places. If you've got a suggestion, send it to east@seattletimes.com or call us at 425-453-2130.
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