Vashon Island Cemetery
18005 Vashon Hwy. SW
Vashon, King County, Washington 98070
206-463-9300
Vashon Island sits in the midpoint of southern Puget Sound, between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. The first non-American Indian to chart this island was Captain George Vancouver, during his surveys of the Puget Sound area with the British Royal Navy. Originally, a smaller isle sat to Vashon Island’s southeast side. Captain Vancouver named the main island Vashon after a fellow captain in 1792. Fifty years later, the smaller isle was given the name Maury Island after a British navy crewmate. These two landmasses remained separated by water until local landowners decided to build an earth bridge, or isthmus, linking them together in 1916. Therefore, the two-piece isle was renamed Vashon-Maury Island. Between the two sections, it covers nearly 40 square miles.
The Vashon Island Cemetery is located on the southwest corner of SW 196th (also known as Cemetery Rd) and 115th Ave. SW on Vashon Island. The Cemetery was founded on April 3, 1888 by incorporation, when Vashon pioneers Franklin and Clara Miner would two acres of their property to a group of citizens for the purpose of establishing the cemetery. Shortly thereafter, Charles O’Keefe deeded 1 ½ acres to the group. The group included L. R. Carpenter, Charles O’Keefe, Enoch J Mathis, John Gilman, and John T. Blackburn. Upkeep and maintenance of the cemetery depended on the volunteer efforts and financial donation of the community. In 1976, the King Co. Cemetery District #1 was formed.
