Oysterville Cemetery: Chained and Locked
- Oysterville Cemetery, February 19, 2012
For the first time since the Oysterville Cemetery plat was completed in 1864, the entrance gate will be securely padlocked. Obviously, it’s not that we need to keep folks in and, for the past 148 years we’ve never felt a need to keep folks out. But all that changed last weekend.
Someone, or more likely several someones, vandalized the gravestones in the pioneer section of the cemetery. One of the old obelisks was knocked completely off its pedestal. Two tall monoliths were dragged from their bases, one of which was cracked in two. Two markers are totally missing.
The gate will remain locked until further notice – certainly until we can repair the damage and replace the missing markers. The locked gate will prevent vehicles from entering cemetery grounds but pedestrians will still be able to walk in. We hope this will be enough to deter repeat occurrences. And, of course, the Sheriff’s Department has been notified.
Ironically, it was Ron Biggs, president of the Oysterville Cemetery Association, who discovered the vandalism. It happened that he had gone into Ocean Park early Sunday morning to get a paper. As he was driving home along Oysterville Road, he noticed a piece of white wood lying on the pavement. It was near the drive leading up to the cemetery, so he stopped to take a look.
Sure enough, it was one of the old wooden markers from the cemetery. It was broken but the name “Osborn” was plain to see. Ned Osborn’s grave marker has been in its place on Davis Hill since old Ned died of a stroke in Oysterville in 1906. Now, only a narrow hole where the marker was pulled out of the ground indicates the spot where Ned was laid to rest.
Osborn was born in Kalmar Sweden and went to sea as a young boy, along with his good friend Charles Nelson. The two of them eventually wound up in Oysterville and settled along Fourth Street (now Territory Road) on neighboring parcels of land. Ned went to work as a sail maker and, in 1873, began building a house for his bride-to-be but, when she left him for another man, he stopped building and never did the finish work upstairs. He remained a bachelor for the rest of his life.
As far as is known, it was Ned’s neighbors – maybe the Nelson family – who marked his burying place with the white marker, his name neatly painted in black letters. It bothers me that now the small remembrance and lone tribute to a pioneer Oysterville resident is gone.
Even worse, perhaps, is the other missing grave marker. It said “Chas. Carlson 1851-1928’ and except for that small bit of information, nothing at all is known about Mr. Carlson. There is no other record of his 77 years on this earth.
What a despicable, senseless crime! I am at a loss to describe my disgust.
I am so saddened to hear about this desecration of such a historical site. I grew up in Oysterville and spent many a weekend either exploring the cemetery or weeding it with my Campfire group. I hope the vandals are located and definitely receive lots of community service on top of any other discipline.
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I too am very disgusted! I’m glad the gate will be locked and only foot traffic can come in so hope this helps. Ronnie is a blessing for the cemetary as he looks after and takes such good care of things. I know Darlene also works very hard up there. Nothing seems to be sacred anymore.
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What an outrage! I don’t understand what thrill could be gained from this type of behavior.
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Thank you for this sad information. The cemetery has always been such a great lesson in WA history for our children and grandchildren.
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Heartbreaking news. As a youngster, I’d imagine all kinds of stories about the people buried there, then we’d make daisy chains and leave them as decorations on the graves.
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How very sad! I hope whoever did this gets caught really soon!
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I am shaking my head with sadness and ire. The senseless folly of……? How very, very sad.
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I, too, am outraged at the current vandalism in the Oysterville Cemetery. Over the past 10 years I have visited the cemetery numerous times and always enjoyed its rustic simplicity. Of course, I’ve visited the Espy relatives’ gravesites, but also was impressed with the gravesite of Chief Nahcati and the small tributes that people had left there: a few coins, shells, etc. As a child I remember riding on bikes with a neighbor kid to the local cemetery in Sunnyside, WA—it was only a quarter mile away and we lived on Cemetery Road—but I would never have thought of any acts of destruction.
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I was very upset when I read the article in the Observer about this outrage. Dave is afraid that chaining it won’t be enough protection, but it’s sad to have to prevent people having access to the history of the place. Cemeteries are some of my favorite places to wander.
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My Great grandfather and Patriarch of the Andrews family built and ran the historic store and post office in Oysterville. I have generations of family as far back as the late 1800′s buried and memorilized at the cemetery. For 50 years, I have visited and reveled in the peaceful presence of my ancestors and the loved ones who are no longer with me on this earth. What a horrifying tragedy. My God, what flows through those vandal’s and thieve’s veins. This will be mine and other family member’s final resting place. I hope this never happens again. I do trust the good people of Oysterville will do all they can to prevent it. That’s the most we can hope for.
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sydney Reply:
January 13th, 2013 at 6:41 am
Rest assured, Denise, that those of us who live in Oysterville are doing all we can to deter future episodes such as this one. Many of us also have ancestors and loved ones in the cemetery and plan to join them there eventually. Unfortunately, vandalism is an ongoing problem in the cemeteries of the Peninsula (and probably elsewhere as well.) Your concern is much appreciated. I might also add that the Oysterville Cemetery Association (P.O, Box 2, Oysterville, WA 98641) would be grateful for any donations toward the continued maintenance of the grounds and the repair of damage to headstones due to vandalism and/or age.
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