Vashon Island Cemetery
19631 Singer Rd SW
Vashon, King County, Washington 98070
206-463-9300
Traveling North or South, follow Vashon Hwy SW to Cemetery Rd. (a.k.a. 196th).
Turn West follow past 107th SW to Singer Rd, approximately 1 1/2 miles.
Turn left and continue to the cemetery entrance (on right)
Vashon Island sits in the midpoint of southern Puget Sound, between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. The first non-American Indian to chart this island was Captain George Vancouver, during his surveys of the Puget Sound area with the British Royal Navy. Originally, a smaller isle sat to Vashon Island’s southeast side. Captain Vancouver named the main island Vashon after a fellow captain in 1792. Fifty years later, the smaller isle was given the name Maury Island after a British navy crewmate. These two landmasses remained separated by water until local landowners decided to build an earth bridge, or isthmus, linking them together in 1916. Therefore, the two-piece isle was renamed Fashion-Maury Island. Between the two sections, it covers nearly 40 square miles.
The Vashon Island Cemetery is located on the southwest corner of SW 196th (also known as Cemetery Rd) and 115th Ave. SW on Vashon Island. The Cemetery was founded on April 3, 1888, by incorporation, when Vashon pioneers Franklin and Clara Miner would two acres of their property to a group of citizens for the purpose of establishing the cemetery. Shortly thereafter, Charles O’Keefe deeded 1 ½ acres to the group. The group included L. R. Carpenter, Charles O’Keefe, Enoch J Mathis, John Gilman, and John T. Blackburn. Upkeep and maintenance of the cemetery depended on the volunteer efforts and financial donation of the community. In 1976, the King Co. Cemetery District #1 was formed.
The Vashon Cemetery was incorporated April 3, 1888. The first two acres were purchased from Frank and Clara Miner (Sec. 1) -- members of the 'second wave' of white families to settle on Vashon in 1878 (one year after the first group). A second 1-1/2 acres was deeded from Charles O'Keefe. The first burial on the island was not in the cemetery but east of here about a mile along now Cemetery Road when Mrs. Julian Morehouse died in 1879. The first burial in the cemetery proper, though prior to the cemetery being incorporated, was L. Ross Carpenter (Sec. 2) who died in October 1886, son of L.R. and Charlotte. Next burial after incorporation, was Mary Gilman in 1891.
The “Memorial Monument” central granite pillar was unveiled on Memorial Day 1921with a ceremony attended by over 1,000 people. The pillar was produced by Pacific Monument and Cut Stone Works of Tacoma for $415. Each of the four sides are dedicated to veterans of: the Civil, Spanish American, and World War 1914-1919, and the fourth to The Unknown Dead.
The north rock wall and pillars with bronze tablet, fronting Cemetery Road, were built in 1929-1930 by A.D. Urqhart and partially funded by the local D.A.R. and dedicated on March 25, 1930.
King County Cemetery District No.1 formed in 1976, provides cemetery operation and maintenance. An elected, three-member Board of Commissioners governs the district.
A plaque near the gate honors three past cemetery district commissioners who passed away while in office: Yoneichi Matsudo and Thomas Garretson elected July 13, 1976, and George McCormick elected 1984.
Visit the Vashon Island Cemetery Website
