Nobody knows for sure what will happen to Mountain View Cemetery, a large pioneer to modern burial location in Centralia, which was recently repossessed by Lewis County on Jan. 26 after its owner was three years delinquent on property taxes.
For years, it was a private cemetery owned by William Rickard. Despite outcry from residents, a “Restore Mountain View Cemetery” Facebook page and volunteer efforts to fix up the place, the cemetery at Caveness Drive fell into significant disrepair.
Several family members of those buried at the cemetery have reported Rickard’s denial to cooperate with efforts to study and restore Mountain View. Since the county’s repossession, he has not turned over records needed to run the cemetery business, which may include grave reservations.
Trees and shrubs uproot headstones. Graves have caved in on themselves. In January, the site was littered with branches and trash, a mausoleum-type structure was filled with wood and graffiti and unhoused people took up residence in parts of the cemetery.
Now, it’s unclear if the location will be declared “abandoned” and taken over by the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, if the City of Centralia will step in to provide funding, if citizens will establish a cemetery district and collect tax dollars, or possibly, none of the above.
But, in this limbo, the revocation of private ownership has prompted volunteers to step up for its restoration.
Craig Steepy, of Chehalis, has led much of the effort. Steepy and about a dozen of others go to Mountain View three or four times per week with weed-whackers, lawn mowers, garbage bags and more, to restore the gravesites, section by section. Countless others, he said, have participated in the work at various times.
Every time he visits, Steepy said he meets someone new.
“Generally they are simply disappointed that the situation has come to this,” Steepy said. “When lots were purchased here for themselves or other family members … they felt this was a solid, long-term investment that would be cared for.”
While the work is arduous, as of Thursday last week, it showed. Headstones obscured for decades by brush, trees, ivy or trash were visible once again. Most of an entire fallen Douglas fir was removed. Weeds and vines were at least halved in the first few sections.
“People can actually drive by the roads,” Steepy said, later adding, “You know, it looks presentable. It’s not perfect, but people can (now) not be ashamed of it.”
The Facebook group, which Steepy moderates, is filled with photos, gravesite maps and updates on the volunteer efforts. In a recent post, he shared the group has 278 active photo requests from folks trying to see the state of their family members’ monuments.
The most challenging work, he said, will be filling caved-in graves. The phenomena happens when caskets rot and the ground above fills in the airspace. At Mountain View Cemetery, these depressions make the lawns, at best, difficult to mow. At worst, Steepy said, they can be dangerous.
As for the future, he believes the best path forward may be some combination of multiple solutions, including grants, tax dollars and fundraising. Steepy said with voters in Centralia reluctant to pass even school levies recently, it may not be a good time to establish a new junior taxing district for the project.
“To get to a balance of funds needed to support an annual budget at the cemetery, that’s got to take a big chunk of change,” he said.
With joint efforts between volunteers and the City of Centralia, Greenwood Cemetery — just a few blocks across town — has seen significant upgrades. Steepy said volunteer crews will definitely draw inspiration from the work, but that Mountain View is much larger and therefore a more daunting task.
With his ancestors buried there in various parts of the cemetery, including some he called “true pioneers,” Steepy’s ultimate goal is to prevent the place from falling into total ruin, he said.
“I don’t see a cemetery as a sad place. It’s tranquil, park-like and it holds a wealth of information,” he said. “It’s an outdoor museum, a place for research and a place for families to visit their loved ones. Cemeteries should be welcoming … not a place to be avoided.”
