Odd Fellows Cemetery - Juneau AKGenWeb

Established 1911
Number of Burials: 35
Number of Grave Markers 17

Acreage: 1.04 acres (45,302 sq. ft.)

Site Description: The cemetery is rectangular in shape. It is located on a moderate slope which is overgrown with vegetation. Remnants of a stair promenade leading to a marble marker with names of Odd Fellow members. No evidence of a fence was found.

The Odd Fellows lodge was organized in Douglas as early as 1898. It was in August of 1911 that Harper and Company cleared a cemetery tract for them. In 1912 improvements were made and a central monument was placed in the center of the tract with the names of the Grand Nobles inscribed on it. Concrete stairs led up to the monument in the shape of a "Y". The lot was 170 feet by 100 feet and all gravestones were to have IOOF engraved along with the name of the individual. H. V. Scully, a local undertaker and carpenter, was contracted to put up an ornamental fence.

The grave markers in this cemetery are unique to this cemetery. They are all generally the same size. They feature an arched top vertical slab approximately thirty inches high by twenty four inches wide by six inches deep. The engraving is on the top arched surface.

The site slopes up from a small service road and is overgrown with brush. Some cutting of Alder trees over the years has resulted in layers of branches lying over markers and grave impressions. Once a year a descendant removes brush from three of the burial sites.

Based on records and information there are approximately 35 burial sites however only 17 markers were identified. In most cases it was difficult to positively identify the person in the cemetery because it was the practice of the Odd Fellows to only list the last name. In the case of a wife buried along with an Odd Fellow she is only listed as "Mrs".

Aalto, August ~ Born in Tanperi, Finland on February 19, 1866, died on October 17, 1958. He arrived in Douglas around 1890 and worked in the Treadwell and later the Alaska Juneau Mines. He had a small dairy farm on St. Anns Avenue and in 1912 was the owner of the Midnight Express Company.

Anderson, Maria Newman ~ Born in Ornestaad, Sweden on October 8, 1872, died on July 13, 1928. She married Nels Anderson in 1895 and moved to Juneau in 1897 and to Douglas in 1904. Nels worked for the Treadwell as a foreman of the Ready Bullion Mine. He was mayor of Douglas in 1926.

Strapran, John C. ~ Born in 1888, died on November 15, 1920. He was a native of Russia and came to America in his teens. He arrived in Treadwell about 1918 and worked as an electrician at the mine. Later he worked for the Juneau Lumber Mills as an engineer on a loading crane. He was unmarried.

Douglas Odd Fellows Cemetery