Cemeteries of Seattle

A fascinating story exists just below Seattle's surface, buried in the city's many historic cemeteries. Founded in 1872 on land acquired from Doc Maynard, Lake View Cemetery holds the remains of one of Seattle's favorite sons, Bruce Lee, whose son Brandon Lee is buried beside him. Maynard is also buried here, along with most of the Seattle pioneers, including the Dennys, Borens, Maynards, Yeslers, and Morans. Princess Angeline, Chief Sealth's daughter, was buried here in a canoe-shaped coffin, and Madame Damnable's remains supposedly turned to stone. Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, founded in 1884 by the Denny family, contains Judge Thomas Burke, known as the man who built Seattle; a Veterans' Memorial Cemetery dating from the Civil War; and two cannons from the USS Constitution, famously nicknamed Old Ironsides. Mount Pleasant Cemetery, founded in 1883 in Queen Anne, is the final resting place of the labor martyrs of the Everett Massacre and William Bell, of Belltown fame. Remembrance benches for Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix's memorial are also local landmarks.

Author Robin Shannon is a member of Washington State Paranormal Investigations and Research (WSPIR), whose members help care for several small cemeteries around Seattle. Using more than 200 photographs, Shannon leads readers through Seattle's pioneer history, depicting the cemeteries of Seattle and the history interred within them.