Dawson City - A Day for Meeting Heroes

Day 06 - July 19th, 2024

Weather - Sunny, 22 degrees C

The goal for today was an initial survey of all of the Dawson City cemetery sites, even the ones that didn't necessarily interest me as part of my research. I wanted to understand if and how each of these cemeteries was being maintained, the condition of the markers, the layouts, the treatments, the inhabitants, and the feeling of the cemeteries. What kinds of signage were there to display information about these cemeteries to the public? Are these cemeteries advertised as part of the local tourism scheme? I'm going to take you through my impressions.

Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery

Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery is, perhaps, the most orderly of all the cemeteries I visited, with 31 neat rows of, for the most part, white crosses. I could tell that these crosses were all replacements for the original markers; many still had the original marker in front or behind. I could also see that many of the crosses have no inscription, making me wonder if they were placed there purely to preserve the uniform look of the cemetery or if those who did the replacement work knew that an individual was buried in those spaces but not their name. The oldest burials appear to be at the back of the cemetery, and the most recent at the front, working forward from 1898 until 1959. The entire cemetery is surrounded by a white picket fence, possibly original but certainly restored, and the cemetery appears not to be maintained in any capacity.

The Y.O.O.P. Dome Cemetery

I don't have many notes about this cemetery as it contains no burials from my study period. However, as a still-active cemetery and one belonging to a Fraternal Society, I was struck by how much better cared for this space was, particularly compared to the Catholic Cemetery I had just been in. Most of the markers were the traditional Y.O.O.P. shape, and the cemetery area had also been demarcated by a fence with the traditional Yukon Order of Pioneers arch at the entrance.

Bet Chaim Cemetery

One of my favourite cemeteries I visited today, Bet Chaim cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery set back from the road. Its entrance is marked by a black wrought iron fence featuring a Star of David on the right side, and the walk up is a pathway lined with trees. The cemetery itself is surrounded by a white picket fence with an arch over the entryway and a brass washbasin sitting on the ground just inside the entrance, traditionally used to wash one's hands. Volunteers restored the cemetery in, I believe, the 90s, and it is still reasonably well-maintained, likely by the Jewish community. Within Bet Chaim, there is only one stone marker at the center back, one old wooden plaque affixed to the fence to the right listing those interred in the cemetery, and a more recent metal standing plaque to the left listing those same individuals, as well as those of the Jewish community that had been interred elsewhere in Dawson. On either side of these plaques are two wooden posts extending about a foot and a half off the ground. Right now, I am uncertain of their purpose, but as they had rocks placed on top, I assume they are meant as a replacement marker for the dead.

Hillside Cemetery - New Public

Like the Y.O.O.P. cemetery, the New Public Hillside Cemetery is still actively used and maintained. Though there are no burials within the range of my study, I was interested in this cemetery because it shares many features of burials I often see from my period of interest, such as wooden fencing and wooden markers. There were many more burials surrounded by fences here than in other cemeteries; I assume this is because organizations like the Y.O.O.P., Masons and R.C.M.P. have a standardized method of commemoration that they do not veer far from. While the Y.O.O.P. markers are also typically wooden, they are painted white, which appears to aid preservation. In the New Hillside Cemetery, there are untreated wooden markers from as late as 1992 already rendered unreadable.

Masonic Cemetery

The ground here is well maintained, as you would expect from a Fraternal cemetery. However, there are relatively few markers, and those that are here appear to be poorly maintained. The cemetery as a whole does not have a sense of organization. There are no burials here from my time frame.

Hillside Cemetery - Old Public

Hillside Cemetery was, perhaps, the cemetery that I was most anxious to experience first-hand, and I was terribly disappointed. The cemetery is in a terrible state of disrepair; beyond a lack of grounds maintenance, many of the markers are completely illegible or beyond saving, with many MANY burials no longer marked at all, as evidenced by obvious sinking and mounding. The oldest section of the cemetery is right at the edge of a hill a distance from the main road, and I would not be surprised if some older burials had eroded and collapsed down this hillside. Though the area is substantial, I do not think the current boundaries of this cemetery are accurate. That being said, some effort has been put into preserving this cemetery, just not within the last decade.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cemetery

There is not much to say about this cemetery; it is absolutely pristine, as one would expect an R.C.M.P. cemetery to be. There are nineteen burials here, seventeen of which have matching wooden markers. All have an area of what I would refer to as cribbing in front covered in gravel, and the entire cemetery is surrounded by white wooden posts connected by a chain, with an archway at the entrance.

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After I had finished my initial survey of these cemeteries, which are all grouped in the same area on Dome Road, I decided that it was time to take a break and that I would like to go to the memorial service that was scheduled for Ed and Star Jones at the Dawson City Museum that afternoon. I had, sadly, never personally met or spoken to Ed and Star; I had gathered up the courage to e-mail them just a little too late. Still, they were the dynamic duo that, it's safe to say, single-handedly prevented Dawson City's historic cemeteries from disappearing entirely. They had personally funded much of the cleaning, restoration and conservation work that has taken place in these cemeteries, and I wanted to know more about the people who had dedicated the later years of their lives to Dawson. From the stories I heard and all that I learned, it is obvious that while a hole has been left in the lives of many, the Jones' constant care and attention has made Dawson City a brighter place. If you're interested, you can read a little more about them here.

After the memorial was over, inspired by the Jones' and feeling rejuvenated in my mission, we set off to locate the two cemeteries within Dawson City proper.

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Y.O.O.P. 8th Avenue Cemetery

Perhaps because it is no longer an active cemetery, the 8th Avenue cemetery is not nearly as well maintained as its counterpart, the Y.O.O.P. Dome Cemetery. Though someone has replaced many of the earliest markers at some point, others are completely illegible, with as many as five lying flat on the ground. This cemetery is laid out in what looks like it might have once been a terraced manner, with quite a bit of elevation gain between the front and the back. The markers are nearly in neat rows, most in the typical Y.O.O.P. shape, some with fences. The cemetery itself is surrounded by a white picket fence, with the traditional Y.O.O.P. gate at the entryway. It was also guarded by a very vocal raven, which struck me as very appropriate.

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After what felt like an entire lifetime tromping through the woods on both sides of 3rd Ave. looking for the Typhoid cemetery and finding many other super secret things, like the graveyard of metal things and a cool animal skull, we felt that we deserved the reward of not having to make our dinner tonight. After dinner, by employing the ask everyone questions advice that I gave you a few posts ago, we confirmed with our waitress that there is, in fact, a cemetery in the area that we were looking and we were just missing it, somehow. So we headed back to 3rd Ave, circled the block a bit, still couldn't see anything and decided to ask random locals. A kid on a motorbike was heading toward us; he didn't seem to know what we were talking about. A gentleman was standing outside his house; he, too, did not seem to know what we were talking about. Finally, the neighbour of the man-who-didn't-know-what-we-were-talking-about overheard his neighbour's confusion and knew EXACTLY what I was talking about. He and his dog even walked me over to the, very obvious now that I knew it was there, footpath.

Random guy: See, you can even see a fence -

Me: Ahhhh, the fence! (somehow, this man magically knew I had been looking for fences)

It turns out that, when I was looking earlier, I just needed to go about another 30 feet to my left.

3rd Avenue Typhoid Cemetery

In some ways, I was less surprised by the condition of this cemetery than I was by the condition of the Old Hillside Cemetery, this was the Typhoid Cemetery, after all. Find a Grave has 141 burials listed for this cemetery, and only 17 of those have photos, so I knew what I was getting into. Still, it didn't make it any less sad. What remains of the 3rd Avenue Typhoid Cemetery is about twenty markers and fence surrounds in various states of disrepair and collapse scattered around the thick underbrush of a steep, heavily wooded, significant stretch of hillside just off the road. One pseudo hiking path threads through the area, but neither the markers nor the cemetery are maintained. Despite my frustration at the treatment, or lack thereof, I couldn't help but think about how being tucked away in the woods is kind of peaceful. It reminded me of a cemetery I had visited in Central City, Colorado, a year prior.

It became brutally apparent that the oldest cemeteries, those that held the oldest burials and needed the most care and protection, were the most neglected. When we were leaving the 3rd Ave cemetery, the man-who-didn't-know-what-we-were-talking-about shouted over to us from his balcony asking how many graves there were, so I shouted back that there were about 20 markers, but that there were over 100 burials. He then remarked how cool that was and said he might check it out later. So...if I can teach even one man that he has a historical cemetery right across the street from him, that makes today a really good day. I can't wait to get better acquainted with these places and their inhabitants tomorrow. I'll see you then!

-Nikki