Day of the Dead Folk Trails Hike
To celebrate Day of the Dead over 50 people joined the Folk Trails Hiking Club Urban hike to historic Nevada City cemeteries. The Nevada Cemetery District operates 27 public cemeteries in western Nevada County, 25 historic natural and 2 modern lawn cemeteries. Eighteen of the cemeteries are open and active, while the remaining 9 historic cemeteries are closed and inactive. We visited the Pioneer Cemetery, first established in 1851 on a knoll behind the First Methodist church, the first denominational church in Nevada County. In the historic cemetery 400 graves date back to the 1850s. Thanks to Matt Melugin, from the Nevada Cemetery District, for showing us the Nevada County Cemetery (1867). The cemetery sits behind the old hospital and the nearly 700 people are interred here but only one traditional headstone is in place. It was a rare opportunity to see the historic cemetery and hear about some of the more recent discoveries and restoration. The final cemetery on the urban hike was the Pine Grove Cemetery. The 5 acre multiple cemeteries include: Lyman Gilmore (first person to fly, or at least that’s what he said), Marsh Family, Searls Family, Shallenberger Plot, Williams Fellows & son Harry Englebright. You can always learn more about local history through the Nevada County Historical Society. Many thanks to Jesse Locks for organizing the event and sharing your local history with so many enthusiasts. For those of you interested in joining another Folk Trails Hiking Club event check out the Facebook page for upcoming events.
© 2017 InnSide Nevada City, Photos © by Erin Thiem
Beautiful post, Erin! We walked through the cemetery on Halloween night on the way home, and would have loved to know more about the folks who are buried there.
Thanks Lillian, seriously, so much history!
Can you post pic of the cemetery home so we can flip they them?
I posted some more on the facebook event.
I was thinking the same thing. I hoped to make this hike this year but somehow it slipped off my radar. Great images Erin.
Love our towns!! Thank you for sharing Erin! Hope I can make a fall walk soon!
There is so much history here. I’m glad there are people willing to share it and the beauty of our area.
Great post, Erin. Having grown up in the Southwest, I learned to love the tradition of the “Day of the Dead” as a way to remember family, friends and others that have died. It is a wonderful tradition that often gets lost in our more secular, lest personal and reflectional American celebration of Halloween. Thank you for such a nice article and great photos celebrating both this cultural event and the folks that take care of these treasured memories.
Such a great walk, learned a lot from a couple of great local, young historians.