Collection: Lakewood Memorial Park - Hughson

During the 1880s, the population along California's Tuolumne River exploded. That Gold Rush heyday eventually necessitated a cemetery. By the turn of the century, continued growth on either side of the river brought a need for a larger burial ground, resulting in the Empire Hughson Cemetery.

A half-century later, the community discovered again that they needed additional interment grounds, and so, with the aid of community planners, the Empire Hughson Cemetery Association worked to develop that which became known as Lakewood Memorial Park.

More than 100 years have passed, but 1 thing that stands as a reminder of Hughson's history is a marker placed by the Native Daughters of the Golden West in commemoration of our early pioneers. You can also experience a walk back in time of sorts when you visit the Old Pioneer area of the cemetery, where the upright stone markers of early Californian settlers stand silent guard over a landscape that continues to evolve with its people.<