When settlers first arrived in the Salt River Valley in the 1860s and early 1870s, the area was still very much a frontier. In the early years, there were no formal cemeteries, no mapped burial grounds, and very little infrastructure beyond irrigation ditches and adobe homes. When someone died, they were often buried quickly in small, informal family plots, ranch sites, or near settlements along the canals and river. Graves might be marked with simple wooden crosses, piles of stones, or homemade markers, if marked at all.
These early burials reflected both the urgency
and isolation of pioneer life. Disease, accidents, violence, and childbirth
took lives unexpectedly, and there was no central burial ground to bring the
community together in mourning. As the settlement that would become Phoenix
began to grow with the construction of canals and a platted townsite, it became
clear that the community needed a formal cemetery where loved ones could be
laid to rest with respect and where families could visit and remember them.
By the early 1870s, town leaders recognized this need and selected land on what was then the southwestern edge of Phoenix, bounded by Seventh and Fifth Avenues and Jackson and Madison Streets. By today's standards, it was rudimentary, as burials were not always mapped or marked, and records were sparse. However, this first city cemetery provided a designated space for burials and included early pioneers of Phoenix.
Curious about who these early burials were, and how they were carefully moved to their new resting place (otherwise known as the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park)? Stay tuned for the next part of our story!
Thank You for a
Meaningful Memorial Day at PMMP 
Let us continue to
honor the past as we preserve it for the future.
.HEIC)
