Copperopolis, Arizona did have a cemetery, and what's amazing is it's
still visible . . . if you look hard enough. We do have an official
listing of the graves at Copperopolis.
My research, walking the
general area, revealed Annie May White's
enclosure. Annie would have been the sister to Newt White that is buried
in Humbug, Arizona. The headstone indicate she died June 6, 1937 but
didn't reveal a birth date. (does anyone know how old she was?) The grave
looks to be the size of a young girl (10-13 Years old) or very small adult.
I did verify, with the use of dowsing rods, that there is a female buried
at her grave.
Fortunately the headstone is still there -- nothing fancy -- someone
engraved lettering in a stone of the area, as is the enclosure that
surrounds the grave. Meadow Muffins were present, indicating cattle have
been in this area.
There
were other burials detected with the use of dowsing; approximately five
adults and one baby, none of which had a headstone only rock enclosures,
but you have to really look to see these.
If you come into the Copperopolis area from the UFO mine, (from the
South), at the intersection on your left that takes you up to the old
town of Copperopolis (do not turn to go up), stop at this intersection
looking off to the Copperopolis mine straight ahead. Look off to your
right at about 2 o'clock, approximately 2/10 of a mile, on the small
rise you will see the fence enclosure for Annie May White's grave. I never
found a road that took me out there but did pick my way to reach it with
the dirt bike.
Very rewarding and beautiful site. Well worth the trip to see it.
I've
been thinking about comments regarding people (vandals) digging
up graves based on the grave looks sunken and disturbed. Unless we find
someone with a shovel and pick working to exhume the grave, it's more
plausible that the grave has imploded as the wooden casket has decayed
and the interment has decomposed leaving a void in the earth. Over time
the earth above the void settles and leaves a depression at the surface.
We find this gives the misimpression that the grave has been disturbed
when in actuality it's a natural settling and the earth reclaiming the
void. Its hard to justify these burials had any valuables, based on the
hard times when they perished to go to the effort to dig them up -- can't
justify the effort.
Neal Du Shane
27 April 2006
View larger versions of photos above.
Top Photo
Middle Photo (The stone)
Bottom Photo
Webization by Kermit Kittleson, April 28, 2006
Copyright ©2006 Neal Du Shane