Welcome to
Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery Park
Welcome to the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery Park!
This small cemetery may look unassuming, but it is a true Seattle gem. On this guided walk through the cemetery, you’ll hear a few of the stories that make this place such a special piece of history and community. Feel free to go at your own pace and pause when needed as you explore using this guide.
To begin your journey, please start at the kiosk at the entrance to the cemetery.
Start here!
You may be understandably surprised to find a cemetery for Union soldiers in Seattle.
Though the battles of the Civil War took place primarily on the East Coast, Civil War veterans had a major influence on the development of the Western United States. After the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, Americans were looking for new opportunities in a fractured and scarred nation. Many Civil War veterans looked west, as California, Oregon, and Washington, among other new territories, promised new economic opportunities. For those coming to the Washington Territory, the Klondike Gold Rush was a large motivator, as were developing industries such as fishing, logging and mining. Thus, everyone in this cemetery made it out to Seattle at some point in their lives, and all survived the Civil War. Union veterans helped shape Seattle as a city. They were political advocates, laborers, decision makers, and were at the forefront of the challenges facing a country recovering from a civil war.
Miners during the Klondike Gold Rush, 1898.
Photo property of the University of Washington Special Collections.
Before this land was known as the city of Seattle, it was, and still is, the traditional home of the Duwamish and Suquamish people.
White settlement of the area began in the 1850s. The signing of the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855 facilitated an exchange between the United States and the people of the Duwamish, Lummi, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snohomish, Skagit, Snoqualmie tribes. This treaty promised hunting and fishing rights, as well as designated reservation land, in exchange for 54,000 acres of land that now makes up Seattle and surrounding areas. Yet, many of these promises made by the United States in this treaty have still not been upheld, and the Duwamish people are still fighting for federal recognition.
When Indigenous people visited Seattle after being banned from living within city limits in 1865, they camped on the beaches surrounding the city. This is an encampment from the 1880s.
Photo property of the Museum of History and Industry.
Chief Si'ahl: chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish people, and Seattle's namesake.
Photo property of the Museum of History and Industry.
When the people who are in this cemetery came to Seattle after the war, the city looked very different than what we know it to be today.
It was a promising young city, as the newly founded University of Washington produced its first graduate in 1876, a Seattle stop was added onto the transcontinental railroad in 1883, and gold was discovered in Alaska in 1897, making Seattle a perfect hub for aspiring newcomers. Seattle drew in settlers from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Asian, African, and European immigrants, formerly enslaved people, Confederate and Union Soldiers, and much more, all looking to start a new life out west.
The city of Seattle’s early days were not all bright however, as the infamous Great Seattle Fire wiped out much of the city in 1889 (the same year Washington achieved statehood), and violence against Chinese migrants and indigenous people caused turmoil. As the city entered the 1900s, Seattle was steadily growing more diverse and developed with each passing year. The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition put the world’s spotlight on the growing city in 1909, when Seattle hosted its first World’s Fair. Union veterans were at the heart of all this growth Seattle experienced in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and many of the individuals in this cemetery were key players in these early days of Seattle.
An illustration of the Anti-Chinese Riot of 1886.
Photo property of the University of Washington Special Collections.
Aftermath of the Great Seattle Fire.
Photo property of the University of Washington Special Collections.
Postcard of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition on the University of Washington campus.
Photo property of the University of Washington Special Collections.
Now it's time to begin exploring.
To continue on this guided walk, please make your way to the bench in the corner of the cemetery. If you are facing the kiosk, the bench will be in the far left corner of the cemetery inside the hedge.
