Crews find century-old graves near Tumwater road

TUMWATER — On the outskirts of Pioneer Cemetery, where some of the earliest Washington settlers are buried, a century-old secret has been uncovered.

Archaeological experts hired to do a preconstruction historical survey on a city highway-widening project found 16 unmarked graves just outside the cemetery boundary along Littlerock Road.

Experts estimate the graves to be more than 100 years old, city officials said.

"There were no records, and we have no way of knowing who they were," said Jim Shoopman, Tumwater's design and construction manager. "You can tell where the shafts were dug, and we found nails from wooden boxes (caskets), but the wood was gone."

Shoopman said workers gathered enough evidence to prove the graves existed, but decided to stop short of digging up each one to search for other artifacts. Any human remains would be long gone, they said.

He said Pioneer Cemetery is one of the oldest in the state.

"The first pioneers are buried there, including George Washington Bush."

According to city historical information, Bush was a member of the 1845 settlement party in Tumwater and died in 1863. Although the cemetery was not formally dedicated until 1867, records show that burials occurred there as early as 1853.

Shoopman said the archeologists, who work for a company affiliated with Eastern Washington University in Cheney, marked corners of the graves with wooden pegs, and then covered the sites with dirt. After refilling the graves Friday, the archeologists tied 16 red ribbons on the outside wall of mesh fence that had marked the cemetery boundary, and left the decision of what to do with the graves to the city.

Re-aligning the road

Shoopman said Tumwater likely will decide to realign the road project around the graves to keep them intact. The graves are in the right of way of where the road was to be expanded.

"We think it's best just to leave them alone," Shoopman said. "Somebody, someday, may know more than what we know now — there's a lot of people around who have ancestors there."

The city is expected to begin the $10 million Littlerock Road corridor project this summer. The preconstruction historical and archeological survey was mandatory because some of the funds will come from the state Department of Transportation, Shoopman said.

The project includes widening Littlerock Road for about a mile and a half from the southern city limits up to Costco. Crews will install four roundabouts to replace intersection signals and will build a center median, a planter strip and sidewalks.

Shoopman said a report on the findings will be filed with the state Department of Archeological and Historical Preservation.

Keri Brenner covers Tumwater and Thurston County for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5435 or kbrenner@theolympian.com.