Clay Street Cemetery is a cemetery located in Fairbanks, Alaska that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was established in 1903 and contains the remains of many of Fairbanks' founders,[2] including Mary Pedro, wife of Felix Pedro, the miner who discovered the gold that led to the city's founding.
| Clay Street Cemetery | |
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| Details | |
| Established | 1903 |
| Location | 7th Avenue and Clay Street, Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Country | United States of America |
| Coordinates | 64°50′30″N 147°42′27″W / 64.84167°N 147.70750°W |
| Type | Public |
| Owned by | City of Fairbanks |
| Size | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
| Website | Clay Street Cemetery Commission |
| Find a Grave | Clay Street Cemetery |
Clay Street Cemetery | |
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
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| Built | 1903 |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001619[1] |
| AHRS No. | FAI-164 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 25, 1982 |
| Designated AHRS | May 1, 1980 |
History
editThe Clay Street Cemetery was established in 1903 as the first cemetery of the new town of Fairbanks, founded two years before. The cemetery was located on the southeastern edge of the original townsite. Residences were built over time adjacent to the northern and western property lines. For many years, a large sawmill operated directly south of the cemetery.
The cemetery officially closed in 1938, when the City of Fairbanks established the Birch Hill Cemetery, which was far from the actual city limits at the time. Burials at Clay Street have continued, mostly sporadically. The last casket burial was of Irene Mary Sherman, a lifelong Fairbanks resident and the self-proclaimed "Queen of Fairbanks", in 1995. Burials of cremated individuals continue to occur to the present day.
The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Gravestone Archives. "Clay Street Cemetery" Archived 2007-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, gravestonearchives.net. Accessed June 30, 2009.