Members-at-large and prospective organizing members of the DAR chapter organizing in South Lake Tahoe, CA spent five hours surveying the original boundaries of a neglected pioneer cemetery in the Al Tahoe section of the city. Prior permits were approved and volunteer liability releases signed before the project began.

The original cemetery boundaries are approximately 30 degrees off of the current street grid. Large portions of the cemetery are under a city street and underneath two adjacent homes. There are 12 remaining grave markers and 37 known burials in the cemetery. However, as the Daughters and “Daughters-to-be” probed and walked every inch of the cemetery, we were able to mark 97 possible grave sites with wooden stakes.  These stakes were numbered and plotted on a graph.  We also canvassed the cemetery with a metal detector.  That data will be coordinated with the stake markers.

As the local historical society representative said, “Even if only half of the stakes turn out to mark actual grave sites, that’s more than what we currently know about.”  The organizing chapter’s ultimate goal is to see the cemetery restored as a local historic site.

Photo:  Members-at-Large and prospective organizing members of the chapter forming in South Lake Tahoe, CA