Pioneers' Cemetery Association

Pioneers' Cemetery Association Non-Profit committed to preserving historic cemeteries in Arizona. [email protected]
P.O. The Mission of the Pioneers' Cemetery Association, Inc.

Box 33192, Phoenix, AZ 85067
Open Thursdays 10 - 1, email to check
Permission to film/photos:
Film Office: https://app2.apply4.com/filmapp/usa/phoenix is to conserve and protect the historic physical remains, grave markers, artifacts, and buildings of Pioneer & Military Memorial Park and provide a safe, accessible community resource for present and future generations; to acknowledge, celebrate, an

d promote Arizona's Pioneer History, represented by those interred in Arizona historic cemeteries, through research, education, conservation, preservation, and community engagement. PCA is committed to the preservation of the 1897 Smurthwaite House and the Pioneer & Military Memorial Park (Cemetery 1884-1914) located at 1317 W. Jefferson St. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places. Volunteers complete repairs and conduct educational events to ensure the preservation of this historic property is available for future generations.

✨What happens when we find a piece of a grave marker?✨Sometimes, while working in our historic cemeteries, PCA volunteer...
09/08/2026

✨What happens when we find a piece of a grave marker?✨

Sometimes, while working in our historic cemeteries, PCA volunteers discover pieces of grave markers or cemetery features that have broken, fallen, or become separated over the years.

We don’t leave these pieces behind. ❤️ They are carefully collected and stored in one of our vaults for safekeeping until they can be properly restored or returned to where they belong.

Thankfully, most of the markers that can be restored have already been restored, but we continue to protect the pieces that remain. Every fragment is part of the history of these cemeteries and the people buried within them.

The "before" photos are from the 1970s

Preservation isn’t always about something dramatic. Sometimes, it’s simply making sure a small piece of the past isn’t lost. 🧱🕰️

Photos: PCA Archives

⚒️🔨This Labor Day, we remember the people who built a city! 🔨⚒️Within our historic cemeteries rest miners, railroad work...
09/07/2026

⚒️🔨This Labor Day, we remember the people who built a city! 🔨⚒️

Within our historic cemeteries rest miners, railroad workers, craftsmen, farmers, merchants, laborers, and many others whose work helped shape early Phoenix.

Some left behind impressive monuments. Others have only a simple marker, or no marker at all. But each was part of the story of our community.

Today, we honor the working men and women of the past and present. ❤️

Photo: PCA Archives, Charles Besse - Bootblack - City Loosley Cemetery, Robert Gustave Andre - Veteran and Miner - AOUW Cemetery

🎨Get crafty with a little cemetery inspiration!Just a reminder! Join us for a fun, hands-on cemetery-themed craft event ...
09/07/2026

🎨Get crafty with a little cemetery inspiration!

Just a reminder! Join us for a fun, hands-on cemetery-themed craft event and create something uniquely yours. ✂️✨ Check out the flyer below.

Come craft, create, and have some fun with us! 💀🖤

⛏️ Who buried the dead in early Phoenix?Meet Sisto Lizarraga, a man whose work placed him at the center of one of the mo...
09/06/2026

⛏️ Who buried the dead in early Phoenix?

Meet Sisto Lizarraga, a man whose work placed him at the center of one of the most necessary, and often overlooked, jobs in a growing frontier city.

Today, Sisto rests in Porter Cemetery, among some of the very people whose final journeys he once helped complete.

🎥 Discover the story of Sisto Lizarraga in our newest video, narrated by Steve Schumacher, Phoenix Mayor’s Office Official Historian.

▶️ Watch Sisto Lizarraga’s story on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aT6fdv3XcEg

⛏️ He dug the graves of early Phoenix—but who would remember his own?Born in Sonora, Mexico, Sisto Lizárraga had already...
09/06/2026

⛏️ He dug the graves of early Phoenix—but who would remember his own?

Born in Sonora, Mexico, Sisto Lizárraga had already lived an extraordinary life before making his way to Arizona. As a teenager, he was caught up in the fighting surrounding Emperor Maximilian I, serving first on one side and then, after being captured, on the other. 🇲🇽

Years later in Phoenix, Sisto became a familiar figure in the city cemetery, eventually known as its unofficial “official” grave digger. He buried members of the community, helped care for the neglected cemetery grounds, and even became a colorful subject in the local newspapers. 📰⛏️

👉 Read the remarkable story of Sisto Lizárraga in our Pioneer Biographies:
https://www.azhistcemeteries.org/pioneer-biographies

Photo: PCA Archives

📜✨ Pioneer Biography: Horace RobertsIn 1884, 34-year-old Horace Roberts came to Phoenix from Pennsylvania hoping the Ari...
08/30/2026

📜✨ Pioneer Biography: Horace Roberts

In 1884, 34-year-old Horace Roberts came to Phoenix from Pennsylvania hoping the Arizona climate would improve his health. 🌵

But less than a year later, a hunting accident in the Salt River bottom would change everything. An accidental sh***un blast badly injured his hand,

Who was Horace Roberts, and what brought this young Quaker accountant to early Phoenix?

🔎 Read his story and discover more of our pioneer biographies at

🌐 www.azhistcemeteries.org/pioneer-biographies⁠

🌵🪦📜

🎨🪦 Get crafty with a little cemetery inspiration!Join us for a fun, hands-on cemetery-themed craft event and create some...
08/28/2026

🎨🪦 Get crafty with a little cemetery inspiration!

Join us for a fun, hands-on cemetery-themed craft event and create something uniquely yours. ✂️✨ Check out the flyer below.

Come craft, create, and have some fun with us! 💀🖤

💙 Help us keep Arizona’s history alive! 🪦🌵Every headstone has a story, and every story deserves to be remembered. Whethe...
08/28/2026

💙 Help us keep Arizona’s history alive! 🪦🌵

Every headstone has a story, and every story deserves to be remembered. Whether you join the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association, make a donation, or simply help spread the word, your support makes a difference. ❤️

✨ Help us preserve the past for future generations.

🌐 azhistcemeteries.org

✨ Throwback Thursday! ✨Travel back to the mid 1970s! 🕰️📸 Re-enactors gathered at Loosley Cemetery to pay tribute to Amer...
08/27/2026

✨ Throwback Thursday! ✨

Travel back to the mid 1970s! 🕰️📸 Re-enactors gathered at Loosley Cemetery to pay tribute to America’s upcoming Bicentennial🎆

In the background, you can spot the historic AOUW cemetery. ❤️🤍💙

History preserved. Stories remembered.📜✨

Photo: PCA Archives

🐾🐶 Happy National Dog Day! 🐶🐾During one of K. J. Schroeder’s studies of our cemeteries, he discovered a dog lovingly bur...
08/26/2026

🐾🐶 Happy National Dog Day! 🐶🐾

During one of K. J. Schroeder’s studies of our cemeteries, he discovered a dog lovingly buried near the fence line of Rosedale Cemetery, likely just outside its historic tree line. 🌳

The dog was still wearing a leather collar and tags dating to around 1920. 🏷️❤️ We may never know its name, but more than a century later, we know one thing. It was loved. 🐕💕

Photo: PCA Archives

Address

1317 W Jefferson Street
Phoenix, AZ
85007

Opening Hours

10am - 1pm

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