Gibsonville Cemetery Passport in Time Project - Plumas NF - CA - PIT Blog - Passport in Time

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Gibsonville Cemetery Passport in Time Project - Plumas NF - CA

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Join us this fall for a unique project on the beautiful Plumas National Forest! The Gibsonville Cemetery served the Sierra County town of Gibsonville from its establishment in 1851 until its abandonment in the 1920s. The site was first settled by James Gibson, who staked a mining claim he called Secret Ravine. His camp eventually grew into the town of Gibsonville which, by 1853, had five blacksmiths, eleven general stores, five hotels, a jeweler, four express companies, two sawmills, a bowling alley, two saloons, a lawyer, one newspaper and one livery stable. Accounts from 1855 give a town population of 700 people and, by the 1870s, included an establised Chinatown. Unfortunately, for whatever reason(s), the town declined to 200 by the 1880s, and by the 1920s, only four people still lived there. The cemetery is now the only true, tangible link to this once thriving town. Currently the cemetery has forty-five marked graves, which range in date from 1858 to 1999; it also contains several unmarked graves. The cemetery was maintained by family members into the 1950s. Since then, it has fallen into disrepair and the fence that once surrounded it deteriorated to a few scattered pieces of wood. Since 2011, the Plumas NF has been working to locate unmarked graves, clean up the cemetery, remove hazard trees, and rebuild the fence that once surrounded the graveyard. This year we would like to finish the fence construction, and repair some snow damage that has occurred over the past two winters. This is an opportunity not only to stroll through history, but prehaps to also add a last touch of beauty and peace for those who rest here, and who lived and remember the heyday of Gibsonville! We hope to see you in September!
 



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