Pioneer Cemetery in Auburn
8020 Auburn Way North
Auburn, King County, Washington 98002
253-931-3028
Also known as Faucett Cemetery or Cemetery in Slaughter or Japanese Cemetery
The Auburn Pioneer Cemetery, located at 8th NE and Auburn Way North in Auburn, Washington. Although the date above the entry arch reads 1878, burials actually took place at the cemetery much earlier. We know that John and Rachel Faucett began using the land as their family burial plot when they lost two young daughters in early 1866. The Faucett family monument graces the earliest marked graves in the cemetery (and is the reason the cemetery was known as the Faucett Cemetery in its early days), but there is some suggestion that burials had taken place on the land even earlier. The community at large soon joined the Faucetts in burying their loved ones at this peaceful crossroads just north of town. According to notes on an early plat map of the cemetery, the land was originally donated for use as an official cemetery in January 1878.
The Pioneer Cemetery located at 8th NE and Auburn Way North, near Fred Meyer, is also part of the City of Auburn cemetery system. The land was donated in 1878 to the town of Slaughter, Washington territory, for a cemetery. Because of its small size and spring flooding, it was only active for about 20 years. In 1917, land on the east edge of the property was given to the Buddhist Church at Christopher, for use by the Japanese community.
Today, burials at Pioneer Cemetery are rare, as only cremated remains of descendants who were originally interred there are eligible. There is at least one civil war veteran interred at Pioneer Cemetery, as well as a relative of Chief Sealth and other early Auburn pioneers. The grounds at this historical site are under the care of the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department. It is also the site of one of the many pieces of Public Artwork that can be found throughout Auburn.
