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Maccabee Cemetery
Lincoln County, Washington
Lat: 47° 18' 26"N, Lon: 117° 59' 45"W
T21N R38E Section 15
Contact: Dick Wipple
509-257-2669
Transcribed by Maggie Rail, Sep 25, 2009, last edited Nov 16, 2009 [mrail@asisna.com]. Total records = 1,256.
This cemetery is located 0.5 mi north of Sprague, WA. Exit 245 off Interstate 90 to SR 23. Go north and then west 1.2 mi on Macabee Road. This road leads to the Maccabee Cemetery. Lakeview is directly south and adjacent to Maccabee Cemetery.
In the 1880s, 10 acres of land was purchased from Harry Jensen by the city of Sprague, for this cemetery. Following this purchase, work began to establish the cemetery. On Jun 09, 1900 the Maccabee Cemetery Association was incorporated, under a board of Trustees, (the first being F. Cooper, Walter Gray & K.C. Fisher). This group lasted until about 1939.
Each time a different group maintained the cemetery after a few years, as members of the board died or resigned, the cemetery would get into disrepair. Many of the names of burials were lost because of bad record keeping during the many years.
In 1945-46 the Sprague Lions Club voted to take on the project of bringing it back. They removed all stones and markers, removed the trees and shrubs, dug a well, added a punphouse and installed a sprinkler system. They remapped the cemetery and replaced all of the stones and plantings. In 1948 the Lions decided to take on the ownership and maintainance of the cemetery. This continued until 1966.
By Dec 05, 1966 the Lions Club turned it over to Lincoln County. It is now owned and maintained by the Lincoln County Cemetery District #7. This is managed by a cemetery board of at least 3 volunteers. I will say I found it in immaculate condition when I read it, thanks to the volunteers who keep it maintained.
Mr Wipple told me that there are many unmarked graves. If anyone knows a name that I am missing, I would be very happy to add it, if you have proof of the burial being in this cemetery.
I walked and read this cemetery on Sep 11-12, 2009 using a digital camera. Additions with death dates after that date will be from obits and other sources. Through much research I have further added names found from a cemetery reading by the Lartigues, old obituaries, death records and after these I have added ns, since I found no stone.
- Maggie RailLegend:
w/o = wife of
d/o = daughter of
f/o = father of
h/o = husband of
s/o = son ofm/o = mother of
ns = no stone
s/w = stone with
w/o = wife of
Records Index: