HISTORY OF ELSINORE VALLEY CEMETERY
In 1891 Peter Wall purchased
12 acres of land for the Greenwood Cemetery.
He laid out the cemetery,
and with the help of the GAR Relief Corps and others,
planted trees and hauled
water to the site to establish them.
The hilly site known as the
“old cemetery” was on Minthorn Street,
east of Highway 71 (now
I-15). Our records show that the following pioneers,
buried between 1876 and
1890, were disinterred and moved to Greenwood:
Emma A. Rand, George B.
Wall, Freeman A. Drake, Joseph F. Drake,
Lena W. Willsey, Joseph
Keith, Allen T. Gilman and Mary L. Walker.
The first recorded burial in
the new graveyard was January 4, 1891
for Frank Cameron,
age 18 years, 10 months, 6
days. He was born in Walnorth County, Wisconsin.
The death certificate signed by Dr. S. H.
Washburn lists cause of death as inflammation of the brain.
The members of the first
Board of Directors were S. H. Washburn, Lafayette Gill,
William H. Townsend, Leonard
Buckingham Peck, James Balfour, W. W. Wilson,
Samuel Adams Stewart, Peter
Wall and Thompson Frame.
The first Superintendent of
the association was Charles Sumner Merrifield (known as Carl),
son-in-law of Peter Wall. He
was followed by his son, Leslie Merrifield,
who held that post until
1970 when he retired at age 70.
Many years of either too
much or too little rain made the job of maintaining the cemetery
very difficult for C. S.
Merrifield. Each year before Memorial Day,
the community was asked to
help clean up the cemetery.
In January of 1916 a major
flood almost obliterated some of the graves.
That year volunteers were
asked to help reset the fallen headstones.
During the early years the
cemetery ground was bare except for weeds.
They grew so high that burning
was used for their control.
This caused damage to the trees
and also the marble, wood,
and limestone gravemarkers,
so the burning was discontinued.
In the 1920’s a well was dug
in hopes of getting enough water for more landscaping.
An adequate water supply
during hot summers continued to be a problem for many years.
In 1923 the Elsinore Woman’s
Club, under the leadership of
Mrs. Guy (Mary Lorena)
Willsey,
took as their project the
protection and care of the cemetery.
Through their efforts, and
with the assistance of other organizations in the valley,
the cemetery was purchased
in May of 1926.
Mr. Wall sold the property
for $500 plus some additional
funds for the improvements
and equipment.
The name was changed to
“Elsinore Valley Cemetery”
and the Elsinore Valley
Cemetery Association was formed as part
of the Riverside Cemetery
District. The Trustees appointed by the
County Board of Supervisors
were Willis L. Everett, Henry Clay Scott and Terrell L. Rush.
Also in 1926, a special
veterans’ section was secured through the efforts of the
Spanish American War
Veterans and the American Legion.
Even in the early years of
the century, the Grand Army of the Republic
held formal dedications and
celebrations each Decoration Day
in which the entire
community participated.
Elsinore’s last survivor of
the Civil War was Abijiah W. “Daddy” Davis who died in 1955.
Ceremonies marking Memorial
Day and Veterans Day continue each year
under the auspices of the
various veterans’ organizations in the valley.
Under the supervision of Mr.
C. S. Merrifield, Leslie Merrifield,
Clair Williams and the
continuing Board of Directors many improvements
have been made at our
cemetery.
Fencing, retaining walls,
curbing, road paving, plus the building
of an office and warehouse.
Each year more landscaping
in the way of trees,
flowers, shrubbery and grass has been added.
Our cemetery is now a place
of beauty and one of which we can all be proud.
Recently, the Elsinore
Valley Cemetery Association finalized the
purchase of the Home of
Peace - Jewish Cemetery,
which adjoins the north side
of Elsinore Valley Cemetery.
The only known records of
burials in this cemetery have been taken
from the existing headstones
and are included on page 169.
“The above history was written by Shirley Brooks with the aid of Jeanie Corral and Lilah Merrifield Knight.”