College Place's 130-year-old Poor Farm Cemetery will soon hold monument detailing sites vast history | Governments | union-bulletin.com

2022-05-21 22:08:53 By : Ms. Manager Jane

The main house at the Walla Walla County Poor Farm, circa 1965, and since demolished.

A numbered grave marker at the Poor Farm Cemetery in College Place.

An interpretive sign from the Walla Walla 2020 Historical Research & Plaque Service at the site of the Poor Farm Cemetery off SE Sandpiper Lane in College Place. It lists the names of people buried that as known at the time the sign was made.

An interpretive sign from the Walla Walla 2020 Historical Research & Plaque Service at the site of the Poor Farm Cemetery off SE Sandpiper Lane in College Place.

A headstone at the Poor Farm Cemetery in College Place.

A headstone at the base of a tree in the Poor Farm Cemetery in College Place.

Several weathered headstones affixed to a cement platform at the Poor Farm Cemetery, located in a manufactured home community off SE Sandpiper Lane in College Place.

The main house at the Walla Walla County Poor Farm, circa 1965, and since demolished.

A 130-year-old cemetery in College Place that has deteriorated since the last recorded burial in 1940 will soon be marked with a granite monument listing the names of 700 or so people buried there.

Several weathered headstones affixed to a cement platform at the Poor Farm Cemetery, located in a manufactured home community off SE Sandpiper Lane in College Place.

College Place City Council members voted unanimously in a recent meeting to accept a $28,000 historic cemetery grant through the Washington State Department of Archae-ology and Historic Preservation.

The cemetery was established as part of the Walla Walla County Poor Farm, which at one point included 200 acres and was a place where the county’s poorest could live, work and eventually be buried.

A headstone at the Poor Farm Cemetery in College Place.

The farm operated until the establishment of the federal Social Security program in 1935, at which point all but the cemetery was sold by the county.

In 1965, ownership of the cemetery was transferred from Walla Walla County to College Place, according to a report prepared by staff.

A headstone at the base of a tree in the Poor Farm Cemetery in College Place.

That cemetery was the last resting place for Poor Farm residents as well as any remains that were never claimed from the Walla Walla County Coroner’s office.

Initially, most graves were simply marked with small concrete cylinders bearing only a number, according to city staff.

A numbered grave marker at the Poor Farm Cemetery in College Place.

Some families and friends later placed upright markers bearing the names of the deceased on a number of graves, though most remained only identified by numbers cut into crumbling concrete.

After the farm was closed and neighboring land was developed as a manufactured home park, all large grave markers were removed, the small concrete cylinders were covered with soil, and grass was planted on top of the graves.

Playground equipment was also installed on top of the graves, footings for which are still visible, according to city staff.

A ground-penetrating radar survey of the site could only locate the exact location of around 118 of the grave sites.

Until recently, it was believed that any complete record of the people interned at the Poor Farm Cemetery may have been lost, but the discovery of records maintained at the county courthouse presented an opportunity to honor all those buried there.

The large granite sign, made of material being imported from Vermont, will list the names of all 700 buried at the Poor Farm Cemetery.

An interpretive sign from the Walla Walla 2020 Historical Research & Plaque Service at the site of the Poor Farm Cemetery off SE Sandpiper Lane in College Place. It lists the names of people buried that as known at the time the sign was made.

An interpretive sign from the Walla Walla 2020 Historical Research & Plaque Service at the site of the Poor Farm Cemetery off SE Sandpiper Lane in College Place.

Interpretive signs posted by the Walla Walla 2020 Historical Research & Plaque Service already mark the site of the Poor Farm Cemetery off Southeast Sandpiper Lane. City staff aren’t sure where the granite monument will be erected, and it is not yet determined whether the historic signage will remain.

City officials do not anticipate additional funding from College Place coffers will be necessary, though the cost estimate for the project was made before recent inflationary pressures.

Emry Dinman can be reached at emrydinman@wwub.com or 425-941-5829.

Reporter covering agriculture, Walla Walla city and county government, and other topics.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.