Woodlawn Cemetery in Ferndale
5977 Northwest Dr.
Ferndale, Whatcom County, Washington 98248
360-384-3734
Also known as Paradise Cemetery.
According to the EARLY HISTORY OF FERNDALE AND TEN MILE TOWNSHIPS published in 1948 and written by Chris C. SIEGEL, p43: "About 1886, John D. ROGERS, John HAGLER, Chas. W. MATTHEWS, Jacob JENNI Sr., William BAER and others organized the Woodlawn Cemetery Association. Mr. Jenni donated 5 acres of land and he was the first to be buried in it ... It was taken over by Ferndale Township many years ago, which insures its perpetuation...’
This cemetery is now included in Whatcom County Cemetery District No. 6 and consists of 7.46 acres.
These records have been extensively supplemented by information from other sources, as the original records generally give only name and date of death. Early mortuary records in the Moles Funeral Home of Ferndale list the following burials in "Paradise Cemetery".
There is a newspaper article in the July 24th, 1903 issue of Ferndale concerning a Paradise Cemetery, but does not indicate its location. No one can be located who knows of a cemetery by that name. Paradise School was across the road from the present Woodlawn Cemetery, and Paradise Church is 11/2 miles north of Woodlawn Cemetery. Paradise was probably an early name for Woodlawn, particularly in view of the fact that there was another Woodlawn Cemetery.
Ferndale Woodlawn Cemetery in Whatcom County was founded in 1880. In 1910 the cemetery was handed to the City of Ferndale.
The Ferndale Woodlawn Cemetery’s management was under the City of Ferndale until 1930 when Ferndale Woodlawn Cemetery Association took over after its formation. The association took over the administration until 2008 when the cemetery land was deeded again back to the City of Ferndale.
The Ferndale Woodlawn Cemetery has incorporated several graves from the local cemeteries. One of the notable relocations of graves is one done by Ferndale Catholic Cemetery in 1993. After relocation, they erected a memorial with a list of names of the deceased whose graves were moved.
Ferndale Woodlawn Cemetery in Ferndale ranks number 1st out of the two cemeteries in Ferndale City in terms of popularity. Further, it ranks 9th out of 20 cemeteries in Whatcom County, 35th out of the 235 cemeteries in Washington State, and 2631 in the United States.
WOODLAWN CEMETERY at Agate Bay – see Buchanan Cemetery.
WOODLAWN CEMETERY – Volume II
Woodlawn Cemetery is located at Northwest Drive and Paradise Road, approximately 5.5 miles northwest of Bellingham, WA and 1-1/2 miles east of Ferndale, WA.
According to the EARLY HISTORY OF FERNDALE AND TEN MILE TOWNSHIPS published in 1948 and written by Chris C. SIEGEL, p43: "About 1886, John D. ROGERS, John HAGLER, Chas. W. MATTHEWS, Jacob JENNI Sr., William BAER and others organized the Woodlawn Cemetery Association. Mr. Jenni donated 5 acres of land and he was the first to be buried in it ... It was taken over by Ferndale Township many years ago, which insures its perpetuation...’
This cemetery is now included in Whatcom County Cemetery District No. 6 and consists of 7.46 acres.
These records have been extensively supplemented by information from other sources, as the original records generally give only name and date of death. Early mortuary records in the Moles Funeral Home of Ferndale list the following burials in "Paradise Cemetery".
Parson, John C. infant d 11 Mar 1903
* Slabby, Antone d 1 Jun 1903 ae 58
* Omli, Miss Anna int 22 Apr 1904 ae 15
* Hardan, John d 14 Apr 1905 ae 86
* Mc Cormick, Emory A d 5 Feb 1910 ae 2
It is known that those indicated by (*) are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. There is a newspaper article in the 24 Jul 1903 issue of the FERNDALE RECORD concerning Paradise Cemetery, but gives no indication of its location. No one can be located who knows of a cemetery by that name. Paradise School was across the road from the present Woodlawn Cemetery and Paradise Church is 1-1/2 miles north of Woodlawn Cemetery. Paradise was probably an early name for Woodlawn, particularly in view of the fact that there was another "Woodlawn Cemetery" at Agate Bay in Bellingham (see history of Buchanan Cemetery).
