Records were not available to confirm the establishment of the Catholic Cemetery and there was no mention of it in newspapers of 1911 or 1912. However the grave of H.P. Carroll was the earliest marker identified with a date of 1912.
Lillian McCormick, of a prominent Douglas Catholic family, was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery in 1911. According to a family member, this was because the Catholic Cemetery was not yet developed. It appears that all other McCormick family members were buried in the Catholic Cemetery. The survey revealed 24 burial site markers.
The Catholic Cemetery is located between the Odd Fellows Cemetery and Alaska Native cemetery. A stand of Spruce trees lies between the Catholic and Odd Fellows cemeteries and there is a small drainage ditch separating the Catholic and Native cemeteries.
The Catholic Cemetery slopes gently up hill from a service road to the base of a condominium housing development. A large white cross is centered at the top of the cemetery. Most of the identifiable burial sites are toward the top of the slope.
There are two burial sites at the lower end between the service road and Douglas Highway. The earliest burial date identified was that of H.P. Carroll, October 2, 1912. The most recent date is June 6, 1995 when the ashes of Kathleen Mary McCormick were placed at the family plot.
The grave markers in the Catholic Cemetery are a mixture of upright and flat granite either engraved or featuring a brass plaque. A couple of badly deteriorated wooden markers remain. The family plots feature low concrete boundary walls.
Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries
