Tooele's First Cemetery

No one knows exactly who lies here, or where. Between 1850 and 1867 the people of Tooele and Rush Valley buried their dead here without selling plots or setting permanent markers — each family simply dug the next open space. When a new city cemetery opened in 1867, about fifty-five of the graves were moved; the rest stayed, their locations already forgotten. As the town grew, construction kept disturbing them, and the remaining graves were gathered and reburied. A memorial garden now keeps the spot, honoring the roughly hundred pioneers whose names outlasted the knowledge of where they sleep.

What the plaque says

Daughters of Utah Pioneers No. 331 Tooele County Erected 1925 Rededicated 1967, 2011 Tooele's First Cemetery Pioneers of Tooele and Rush Valley were buried here between 1850 - 1867. As no plots were sold families were required to dig the grave and use the next burial space. Several bodies were moved to the new cemetery. These remain: Adams, William B. Adams, Henry Baker, John T. Bates, Lansing Bevan, Elizabeth Bevan, Hugh Bevan, James Franklin Burridge, Annie Jane Burridge, Daniel Shaw Chamberlain, Thomas Charles, David Charles, Mary Ann Clegg, Agnes Custer, Lorenzo Despain, Hyrum Edwards, Julyann Edwards, Armilda Gowans, Ann Green, Emma B. Ide, Clara Kelsey, Rachel Kelsey, Susanna Marshall, Agnes McIntyre Marshall, Babies (3) Maughan, Thomas Harrison Maughn, Peter McKendrick, Robert Nelson, Robert or Leroy Nix, III James Nix, Harriet Whale Nix, Sarah Early Pehrson, Sophia Pratt, Levius Crooks Pratt, Onthew Crooks Sagers, Martha Smith Salsbury, Hannah Castle Salsbury, Robert Smith, Adam Wylie Smith, Christina Speirs, Agnes Stewart, Peter Stookey, Samuel Shambip Sweet, Amy Tuttle, Mary Emma Tuttle, Sarah Maria Clinton Utley, Mary Agnes Whale, Thomas Whale, Harriet Cook

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bingham Canyon Mine — 8.1 mi
  The largest man-made excavation on Earth
• Great Salt Lake — 19 mi
  The largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere
• Saltair — 20 mi
  A haunting lakeside resort with a storied past
• International Peace Gardens — 24 mi
  A hidden garden where 28 countries are represented in miniature

More markers nearby

• Pioneer Graves Reburied — steps away
• Tooele City Pioneer Cemetery and Memorial Garden — steps away
• Early Settlers of Tooele County — 0.4 mi
• Old Tooele County Courthouse — 1.0 mi