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Chief Schonchin Cemetery - Klamath County, OR
N 42° 25.352 W 121° 21.148
10T E 635539 N 4698005
This Native American cemetery is located a couple of miles north of Hwy 140 in Klamath County, OR.
Waymark Code: WMF4TX
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2012
Views: 2
Chief Schonchin Cemetery is named after a Modoc elder tribesman who was an active leader and negotiator during the Modoc War of 1872-1873. He was instrumental in preventing his fellow tribesmen from waging war with the US government and agreeing to resettle at a reservation many miles away from their native lands in Tule Lake, CA and Lower Klamath Lake, CA.
There is a historical marker dedicated to him by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1932 within the cemetery complex. There are also two other historical markers dedicated to Frank Riddle and his wife Winema, who were both instrumental in being interpreters and negotiators between the Klamath and Modoc tribesmen and the US Government before, during and after the Modoc War of 1872-73.
There are many relatives of Chief Schonchin (also known as Old Schonchin) buried here in the cemetery and many of the native graves are of men who fought in WWI, WW2 and the Korean War.
There are approximately 150-200 graves in this cemetery, many of which are unmarked with only a small, wooden headstone or smaller, marble or metal grave marker designating the plot as being inhabited.
As with any Native American cemetery, any visitor to this place MUST RESPECT the history and people here. This is a sacred place that has many local connections throughout the area, through the descendents and through the land that once belonged to the Klamath and Modoc tribes.
There is a centenarian buried here and is a waymark that can be visited here: Jennie Clinton. I will also be waymarking the three historical markers mentioned earlier and providing links to them here soon.
DIRECTIONS TO CEMETERY:
From Hwy 140, turn onto Sprague River Rd heading north. Proceed north about two miles until you come to a gravel road on your left that leads to a red ranch house. Proceed through the ranch house property (this is a public access road) for another quarter mile and you will come to a clearing and to the Chief Schonchin Cemetery.