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When you look at the historic maps of Rosedale and City/Loosley Cemeteries in Pioneer & Military Memorial Park, you’ll notice something unusual: rows of single graves with large plots. But why?
In the late 1800s, cemeteries needed flexibility. Single
graves were mapped out and sold for many reasons:
- Urgent Burials: Epidemics and sudden deaths meant families needed immediate options. In 1884, when burials were moved into City Loosley, some blocks were even divided into single spaces to make room for the large amounts of reburials taking place.
- Cost-Effective: A single grave was far more affordable than a family plot, making burial possible for working-class families and newcomers.
- Frontier Populations: Phoenix was a town of transients. There were miners, railroad workers, and travelers who often didn’t plan on staying long term…but did anyway.
- Benevolence: Different organizations bought graves and then donated them to low-income individuals or families.
- Efficient Land Use: Cemeteries could manage revenue and space more effectively by laying out single rows, especially along fence lines or open areas.
Some “single” graves are even present in our lots or blocks. Some people would buy graves from families or
individuals who had a plot. Many
undertakers in town bought blocks of graves.
They also used these graves as “holding places”. Before refrigeration, single graves sometimes
served as short-term resting spots until loved ones could be claimed. Some were
never moved, and those individuals remain here today.
These are just a few reasons that we know. In any case, our cemeteries show a city that
was adapting to change in an evolving frontier town.
