Lone Mountain Cemetery

Wow--this cemetery is sure different from the ones I grew up seeing in the Midwest. It's like they chose a piece of the desert and put up a bunch of tombstones. There is serious erosion going on here, especially of the older stones. Some of these go back to the Civil War. Certainly as far back as the first settlers.

My husband's family came from here, as well as other places. There are quite a lot of family members buried here.

The first time we came here was on our honeymoon to Lake Tahoe, about an hour's drive away. We came over the mountains on a day trip. Since my father was into family genealogy it was natural for me to take an interest in his ancestors. We even got to go inside the little house his great grandfather lived in and his grandfather was born in. It's a gift shop now.

A few years ago his brother arranged for some of the headstones to be shored up and reinforced where they were in danger of falling over and becoming unreadable. That is what is happening to the older headstones due to the harsh weather both in the summer and winter.

You can't really put live flowers here because they would die too fast so everything is all plastic and phony and sun-faded. Personally I prefer a cemetery that is green with grass and trees and flowers.

Oh yeah, thre view of the mountains is pretty spectacular.

This is Carson City's main cemetery out of four other historic sites in the area and the largest. Here you can find some historic names, and sites of founding fathers of the city. This cemetery has a rustic and slightly neglected feel to it. Graves are not maintained by staff, are left to deteriorate and crumble; at least for the older areas. There are a few trees, but not much in the way of landscaping. It is wonderful to walk the large grounds and see the range from pioneers to modern residents, special areas for those who fought for our country, and memorials peppered throughout the grounds. I did not visit the office, nor have I for any previous visit, so I am not sure about staff or if you are able to make arrangements on-grounds.