LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Within the massive archives of historian Henry Mauldin lies the story of the origins of the Herndon Pioneer Cemetery located on Stagecoach Lane in Lower Lake.
The Nathaniel Herndon family undertook an arduous journey in 1854.
Like many other pioneers heading west, they left Missouri for California.
Unlike other pioneer parties, the Herndons belonged to one of the largest teams heading west.
This massive wagon train, led by Doc Mathews, consisted of 40 wagons which were hauled by oxen.
Oxen were selected as the beasts of burden for the emigrants' journey because oxen usually cost less than a horse or mule.
Oxen were known for their dependability, however, if an ox chose to make a run for it, it could easily be rounded up, as they were slow animals.
Another good reason for selecting oxen was that oxen paraphernalia fit within a pioneer's budget, with a yoke costing about $25 then.
Oxen also were favored for their ability to browse on plants which horses or mules would not eat. Too, mules and horses required grain, which took up space on a wagon which was needed for other items.
One can only imagine what the overland journey entailed.
Those forging their way west with the Herndon party included family names of Hale, Grigsby, Copsey, Mathews, Coffman, Slater, Jarvis, Dollar, Henry and Smith.
Once his family arrived in what is now Lake County, Nathaniel Herndon homesteaded land in Lower Lake in 1856, and decided to make use of three of those acres as a family cemetery.
As time went by, his cemetery site became a community burial grounds for those with the following surnames: Adams, Asbill, Copsey, Dean, Dillard, Green, Hutchinson, Kirtley, Mitchell, Morris, Scarf, Thurston and Wilson.
In 1950 George Patch was laid to rest here as well. He was, according to cemetery records, “the last traditional leader and shaman of the Koi Nation.”
The old Herndon Pioneer Cemetery suffers from vandalism and the passage of time. Many of the graves were once marked with wooden crosses, and those have disintegrated due to weathering and natural causes.
There are still some distinguished, ornate monuments which have withstood time's ravages. There are granite gravestones, and some made of a volcanic ash called “tuff.”
Some of the family plots which were once marked by iron fencework are now without their fence boundaries.
Research is ongoing by the Lake County Genealogical Society, but so far there are 27 names included in the Herndon Pioneer Cemetery, with the largest group belonging to the Herndon family. There is Nathaniel Herndon along with eight other family members.
Some of the burials from this cemetery have been moved to nearby Lower Lake Cemetery on Lake Street.
From time to time, according to the Lake County Historical Society's Pomo Bulletin, the Lower Lake Cemetery on Lake Street expresses a desire for all of the burials at the Herndon Pioneer Cemetery be moved to their cemetery, but, as you can imagine, the descendants of these pioneers stringently object to the idea.
Others who stridently object to moving the burials are members of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West, and those who love Lake County history.
Efforts by the Lake County Board of Supervisors and concerned local citizens have their work cut out for them to restore and preserve this important piece of Lake County's past.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.