Fresno County Cemeteries




Lone Oak Cemetery

Old Cemetery Will Be Dedicated
From The Fresno Bee, October 17, 1975

IVANHOE - A bare plot of ground, not much larger than the average city lot, surrounded by orange trees will be dedicated with an historical marker Sunday afternoon.

Soem persons believe it may be the oldest cemetery in the Southern San Joaquin Valley.

It is the Lone Oak Cemetery and located on the McLain Ranch, just east of Road 168 on Avenue 324, about two miles east of here.

Just how many persons were buried there is not known, but the marker accounts for 39. The earliest burial record was in 1863.

A few marble tombstones are still there - all but one broken by vandals, plus a half-dozen flat gravemarkers and four upright rocks with undiscernible names and dates scratched on flat surfaces.

During the 2 p.m. ceremonies the Tulare Historical Society and the Kaweah Chapter of the DAR will dedicate the marker alongside Avenue 324 near the entrance to the McLain Ranch.

Only one granite tombstone remains intact today. This double marker indentifies the deceased as Zachariah Miller and his wife, Harriet. Chiseled into the stone is the husband's date of death, Dec. 28, 1873 and notes he had lived 77 yrs. 3 mos. 1 D. Mrs. Miller, who died May 1, 1882, had lived 78 Yrs. 7 Mos. 13 ds.

The oldest marked grave is that of "Louisa, wife of J.B. Crowley," Died Nov. 13, 1863.

About a month later "Joseph Samuel, son of James and Elzabeth Crowley", died Dec. 15, 1863. He was 19 1/2 years old.

The flat grave markers proclaim the births and deaths of Abe McGinnes (Nov. 15, 1827-Dec. 12, 1897); John McGinnis (July 20, 1882-Sept. 20, 1900), probably related but with a slight difference in spelling the last name, and Richard J. Arnold, whose 70 years of living is succinctly set fort: 1839-1900.

Legend has it that the 12 members of the Woods party who were killed by the Indians in 1852 were buried in this cemetery, but officials say there is no way to substantiate this.

The Woods family is generally recognized as pioneer settlers of Tulare County and Woodsville (Now Woodville) was named after the family.

The Marker reads as follows:

Loan(sp) Oak Cemetery
Located 200 feet north of this marker
In Memory of the Pioneers buried here
Some known only to God.

James Arnold
Mr. Keterson
Richard Arnold 1900
Mrs. Keterson
A.H. Austin 1891
Abraham McGinnis 1827-1897
Hazel Barton
John Henry McGinnis 1899
Polly Holmes Blair 1883
John Meadows McGinnis
Florence Barton Bird & Infant
Oscar McGinnis
Elizabeth Crowley
Rose Holly McGinnis
George W Crowley
Annie June McGinnis
Joseph Samuel Crowley 1863
Mrs. Harriet Miller 1812-1882
Lee Crowley 1864-1864
Zachariah Miller 1800-1877
Louisa Crowley 1869-1932
Melvina J Pogue 1856-1865
Perry Creason
Sarah Blair Pogue 1872
Ralph Chatten
Andrew Robinson 1812-1882
George Dean 1891
Cinderella Robinson
Martha Goodin 1860-1865
H.C. Snowden 1890
Mary Goodin 1858-1869
S.N. Snowden 1893
Mrs. Hamilton & Child 1880
Ida Parker Tout
Mrs. Joel Hedgepeth
Mrs. John Tout
Rommie Hamilton
Mr. Sprague
John Wells 1889


Erected by
Tulare County Historical Society
Kaweah Chapter D.A.R.

The above cemetery is known as the Lone Oak Cemetery, however, in information given to me by Aleen Reed Gall of Stockton a few years ago, her great grandpatents were buried in this cemetery and at that time it was known to her ancestors as Deep Creek Cemetery.

There is one other known person buried here which is not listed on this marker. She is Maria Haughtaling Dean, wife of george Critchell, 1822-1889. Mr. and Mrs. Dean were also the great grandparents of Harris Reed.






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