Sumner Cemetery
12324 Valley Ave E
Sumner, Pierce County, Washington
253-299-5510
Also known as Puyallup Valley Cemetery , Sumner Pioneer Cemetery
Explore where it all began, over 150 years ago. The Pioneer Cemetery includes the first settlers of Sumner and the region, including a number of veterans who served in America’s wars going all the way back to the Civil War. While this area no longer has availability for future burials, it is well worth a stroll through history to appreciate the art and memories of memorials from Sumner’s earliest time.
Just off Highway 167 sits the Sumner Cemetery, a cemetery established in 1864 by Isaac and Mary Woolery who buried his children on the land. This portion of the cemetery is known as the pioneer cemetery and holds graves for members of the Woolery family from Missouri and the Kincaid family from Kentucky, pioneers who came over the Naches in 1853.
“Mr. Wm. M. Kincaid of the Puyallup valley died a few days ago. He was quite an old man, seventy-five years or near that. He was a worthy and highly respected citizen, and an old settler in Pierce County.”
In addition to the Kincaid and Woolery families, the cemetery is the final resting place for the pioneers of 1853, war veterans, and Woodmen of the World. One of the more interesting tombstones is that of Fred C. Dobler, born in 1870 and died in 1903. The tombstone indicates Dobler met his death in a snow slide.
The cemetery was expanded in 1902 to include the town section and it was taken over by the city. Under the city’s care, a new water main was installed so the 24-acre cemetery could be better maintained cared for. A new cemetery is across the street and was established in 1947.
