Big Pine Cemetery District to dedicate burial site

Event set for Nov. 5

The Big Pine Cemetery District invites the public to the dedication of the Inyo County Hospital and Farm Burial Site on Saturday, Nov. 5. The program will be held at 11 a.m. at the Crocker Cemetery, 600 Crocker Avenue in Big Pine.

In the early 1900s, according to the district, Inyo County provided a county hospital and working farm on 80 acres. The county farm was still in use as both a tuberculosis sanatorium and home for the aged in the 1940s.

The building was eventually converted into the Big Pine Care Center, which was in use until 2000. When a resident of the hospital passed and had no other means for burial, they were buried in the southeastern part of the farm known as the Farm Cemetery, which is now the northwestern part of Crocker Cemetery.

Unfortunately, the original burial markers for these people have been lost over the years. The Big Pine Cemetery District is currently researching old county death certificates and newspapers to obtain the names of the residents buried there and have purchased permanent grave markers to acknowledge their final resting place.

Organizers hope the public will join them as they unveil the new marker and celebrate the memory of fellow Inyo County residents.