Mount Pleasant Cemetery
700 West Raye Street
Seattle, King County, Washington 98119
206-282-1270
Also known as Free Methodist or Seattle IOOF Cemeteries
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, located on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, was started in 1879. The earliest burials date from the late 1870s, when the Odd Fellows established a cemetery on 10 acres that they later purchased from Nils Peterson. The Free Methodist Church purchased 10 acres for a cemetery in 1882 and Seattle undertakers Cross & Co. acquired the rest of the land from Peterson about the same year. In 1890, The Congregation Chaveth Sholem established Seattle's first Jewish cemetery there.
In 1895, James W. Clise (1855-1938), banker and real estate investor, organized the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Company and acquired the land from Cross. Other churches and ethnic groups purchased portions of the cemetery including the Chinese Chong Wa Benevolent Society. In 1929, Mt Pleasant sold part of the land to Temple de Hirsch for the Hills of Eternity Jewish Cemetery. In 1957, Charles Clise sold Mount Pleasant Cemetery, in a very run-down condition, to Neil Edwards (1908- 1986). He improved the cemetery, planting and caring for flowering shrubs, trees, and lawns. His son, Bill Edwards, operates the cemetery today (1999).
One of Seattle's oldest burying places, and comprised of several ethnic origins, denominations, and cultures. Nils Peterson, a Queen Anne Hill homesteader, deeded 10 acres of his land to the Odd Fellows in the late 1870s to be used as a fraternal burying ground. The Free Methodist Church purchased another 10 acres under the name of the Seattle Methodist Seminary (now Seattle Pacific University) in 1882. Seattle undertakers Cross and Company purchased the remainder of the land from Peterson later in 1882. The original entry was on the north side of the property. The Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association assumed the latter two properties in 1895 and developed the cemetery in stages around the turn of the 20th century, constructing a new entry gate on the south side. At that same time, the Gibboth Olum Reform Cemetery (established by Congregation Chaveth Sholem, and now known as Hills of Eternity), the Arthur A Wright funeral home and crematory, and the Queen Anne Columbarium were established nearby. Large blocks of the Mount Pleasant real estate were purchased by the Chong Wa Chinese Benevolent Society. Seattle's black community purchased a dedicated section at the center of the cemetery. The Islamic section, with graves oriented towards Mecca, was set aside in 1979. In 1987 the cemetery, in poor condition, was sold to the Edwards family, who continue to operate the cemetery. Today the 40-acre property, legally consolidated in 1999 with that of the Odd Fellows, contains over 60,000 verified burials, several community memorials, and notable persons of local and national significance.
Cemetery office is happy to assist with plot locations of less than three locations. Anything more than that and you will be charged for their time and resources. Email:[email protected]
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Washington. It opened in 1879.
The cemetery contains the remains of the unknown dead of the 1906 SS Valencia disaster, as well as many early Seattle pioneers, and Filipino-American author and activist Carlos Bulosan. A memorial to the dead of the 1916 Everett Massacre is located in the northeast section of the cemetery. During World War II, the cemetery served as a site for anti-aircraft defenses.
Additional information: https://www.historylink.org/File/966
Visit the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Website
