Willard in Box Elder County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Willard Pioneer Cemetery

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 23, 2023

1. Willard Pioneer Cemetery Marker

Inscription.
The Willard Pioneer Cemetery's first burial was August 1854 with the death of five-day-old John Memorial, Jr., son of John Memorial (Memory) and Samantha Wells McCrary. This site, selected by Willard's first settlers, is located one block east of the first group of log houses erected in Willard in 1851.

The McCrary baby was buried in the southwest corner of the cemetery. Subsequent burials were north of this gravesite in order of the date of death. Loved ones were not buried by their families unless death immediately followed the last burial. For this reason, a new cemetery was chosen in 1869 on the foothills north of the original location. One hundred fifty settlers were buried in this cemetery, and one hundred ten burials have been documented. Names of the other forty are still being sought. The last known burial in this cemetery was in 1905.

The Willard flood of 1923 devastated this hallowed site. Floodwaters, cutting a large trench, caused markers and some remains of the graves to be washed into the fields west of town. Located remains were brought back to the cemetery and buried in a common grave. Headstones

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and markers were replaced as accurately as possible.

1997 No. 507 Willard Camp

Erected 1997 by Daughters of Utah Pioneers. (Marker Number 507.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1854.

Location. 41° 24.853′ N, 112° 2.153′ W. Marker is in Willard, Utah, in Box Elder County. It is at the intersection of North Main Street and W 300 N, on the right when traveling north on North Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Willard UT 84340, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Utah’s Cache Valley

and in the West Desert.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in Colorado Plateau.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 23, 2023

2. Willard Pioneer Cemetery Marker

are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: North Willow Creek Fort (approx. 0.4 miles away); Willard Central School Bell (approx. 0.4 miles away); Willard Basin (approx. 3½ miles away); Three Mile Creek Settlement (approx. 3.6 miles away); Peter Skene Ogden (approx. 5½ miles away); Pioneer Care Center (approx. 5.6 miles away); Bushnell Hospital / Intermountain Indian School (approx. 5.8 miles away); Lorenzo Snow Burial Site (approx. 6.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Willard.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 6, 2024, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. This page has been viewed 435 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 6, 2024, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.