A lovely, historic, well-preserved cemetery well worth visiting.
I almost missed the Old Methodist Cemetery outside Bickleton, WA as I drove through on a road trip to central Washington. Somehow it hadn’t popped up in my cemetery searches. It didn’t help that the name was misspelled as Old “Methosidt” Cemetery in Google Maps. (I entered that correction in Google Maps, but it took a couple years for it to be approved. So now I always think of it as the “Methosidt” cemetery.)
My first visit was on a gray, overcast day, perfect for moody cemetery tours. The second visit was on a bright, sunny day with a relentlessly blue sky the color of the bluebirds that Bickleton is known for.
Local historical societies have taken great pains to document the burials at the cemetery and provide markers at sites where they’d been missing. You’ll find tall grass and weeds there in the dry summers, but the cemetery is actually very well-maintained and well-monitored. Many of the plots still have the original wood and iron fences around them in very good shape. Many of the white marble memorials are still in good shape as well despite the wind and weather which blows across the plateau.
This is an exceptionally nice pioneer cemetery with a good vibe and many interesting memorials. It’s one of my favorites and I plan to visit any time I’m in the area. The nearby Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery north of Bickleton is also very nice. So is the Cleveland Cemetery, which is “just down the road apiece.” I recommend visiting all three if you’re in the area.
Stump and Lamb explores personal growth and meaning via travels to pioneer cemeteries of the West.
This post was originally published at michellerau.com.
michelle rau 