Cemetery Walking: Fairmount Cemetery in Glendora, CA

It was raining today, so what better way to spend the day than traipsing through a muddy cemetery? I wanted to make some additions to Find a Grave, so we checked for local cemeteries that had few interments listed. Fairmount Cemetery stood out, because the cemetery page had instructions on how to find the cemetery, as it's a bit off the beaten path.

Even with the directions, we struggled to find the place. I think you can see why...

We parked outside, pulling right up to the gate so we wouldn't get stuck in the mud.

About three seconds after we climbed from the car, a clatter of howling began from the area behind us. Then an answering howl sounded from inside the cemetery. My girlfriend tried to convince me it was dogs howling at firetruck sirens we had heard, but I knew the truth. Coyotes. As a native Philadelphian, I find coyotes petrifying. We crept to the gate, and spotted the howler, a lone coyote, clearly in the process of napping. We watched him for a few moments, before he hopped over a fence bordering the cemetery and disappeared, not in the mood to tango with us.

Inside, many of the stones were broken/unreadable, but I was surprised that so many were in good condition. There was a section of un-labeled wooden crosses that were in a bit of disrepair. It was a small cemetery, so I think we photographed every stone there that was still legible. In all, we ended up adding 19 records with photos on Find a Grave. This was my favorite:

I was intrigued by the two missing names at the top. Thankfully, most of the graves have been transcribed to a cemetery survey on US Gen Web, and I was able to place these missing two people. All in all a really successful trip, and it was neat to get to such a hidden little cemetery.