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Finding the Whealdon Family Cemetery
I’ve added several cemeteries to Google Maps, yet I’m still surprised to see others doing the same: a cemetery will magically appear on the map where I hadn’t found a cemetery before. This was apparently the case for the Whealdon Family Cemetery in Ilwaco, WA. Since I was planning a day trip to the coast, I decided to check it out.
I found the cemetery on Findagrave. The entry showed only a couple photos dating from 2011, and a notation about its picket fence and the nearby water tanks. The place was clearly visible on Google Maps, near the intersection of Whealdon Street and Mary Ann Avenue NE, obviously named for Mary Ann Whealdon. Looking at the map, although the cemetery itself was almost certainly on private property, it appeared to be reachable from the nearby road.
On my day trip, I found the location easily — it’s hard to miss giant water tanks. I could tell where the cemetery should have been, but all I saw was blackberries. Finally I pulled off to the side of a driveway and caught a glimpse of white in the middle of the jungle. That must be the picket fence!
Fortunately there was a faint trail leading through the grass and weeds. It didn’t seem like anyone was around on a Monday morning to ask permission, so I figured I could make a quick visit without getting into too much trouble.
