204 Unnamed Patients of Northern State Hospital
From 1912 to 1953, deceased patients of Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, whose remains were never claimed, were buried in the hospital cemetery. Sadly, a state law required them to be buried in anonymity to protect family surnames from the shame of being associated with a mental asylum. Thus, a grave marker could only be stamped with a grave number and the patient's initials. Catholics were buried in makeshift caskets, while people of other faiths were cremated. It is said that containers of unclaimed ashes were gathered together and buried in common plots with nothing to mark the final resting place of those individuals' remains. While some names of those interred in the hospital cemetery have been recovered, most seem to have been lost.
In 1953, it became illegal in Washington for hospitals to bury their dead. From that point until Northern State Hospital closed in 1973, the remains of unclaimed patients were buried at Hawthorne Memorial Park in Mount Vernon. Before the Northern State Hospital crematorium was demolished, 204 dusty cans of ashes with patient numbers written on them were discovered in the building's attic. It seems that someone had forgotten to bury them. They were then taken to Hawthorne Memorial Park for interment. Unfortunately, they were neglected there too and in 1983 were finally buried in a common grave by the cemetery's entrance, decades after those patients had passed away. A simple tombstone with no names of the deceased marks the grave.
According to staff, Hawthorne Memorial Park has the names of the patients whose remains lie anonymously in the common grave, but they are not allowed to disclose them to the public. These precious souls have been discarded and forgotten by this world for far too long. They deserve to have their names etched in stone as much as anyone else.
It would be a beautiful thing if someone with the appropriate expertise and financial means could work with Hawthorne Memorial Park to right this wrong and erect a proper memorial for these 204 individuals who, like the rest of us, were made in the image and likeness of God.
Rest in heavenly peace, dear souls, in the arms of a Father who knows each of you by name.
From 1912 to 1953, deceased patients of Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, whose remains were never claimed, were buried in the hospital cemetery. Sadly, a state law required them to be buried in anonymity to protect family surnames from the shame of being associated with a mental asylum. Thus, a grave marker could only be stamped with a grave number and the patient's initials. Catholics were buried in makeshift caskets, while people of other faiths were cremated. It is said that containers of unclaimed ashes were gathered together and buried in common plots with nothing to mark the final resting place of those individuals' remains. While some names of those interred in the hospital cemetery have been recovered, most seem to have been lost.
In 1953, it became illegal in Washington for hospitals to bury their dead. From that point until Northern State Hospital closed in 1973, the remains of unclaimed patients were buried at Hawthorne Memorial Park in Mount Vernon. Before the Northern State Hospital crematorium was demolished, 204 dusty cans of ashes with patient numbers written on them were discovered in the building's attic. It seems that someone had forgotten to bury them. They were then taken to Hawthorne Memorial Park for interment. Unfortunately, they were neglected there too and in 1983 were finally buried in a common grave by the cemetery's entrance, decades after those patients had passed away. A simple tombstone with no names of the deceased marks the grave.
According to staff, Hawthorne Memorial Park has the names of the patients whose remains lie anonymously in the common grave, but they are not allowed to disclose them to the public. These precious souls have been discarded and forgotten by this world for far too long. They deserve to have their names etched in stone as much as anyone else.
It would be a beautiful thing if someone with the appropriate expertise and financial means could work with Hawthorne Memorial Park to right this wrong and erect a proper memorial for these 204 individuals who, like the rest of us, were made in the image and likeness of God.
Rest in heavenly peace, dear souls, in the arms of a Father who knows each of you by name.
204 Unnamed Patients of Northern State Hospital
From 1912 to 1953, deceased patients of Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, whose remains were never claimed, were buried in the hospital cemetery. Sadly, a state law required them to be buried in anonymity to protect family surnames from the shame of being associated with a mental asylum. Thus, a grave marker could only be stamped with a grave number and the patient's initials. Catholics were buried in makeshift caskets, while people of other faiths were cremated. It is said that containers of unclaimed ashes were gathered together and buried in common plots with nothing to mark the final resting place of those individuals' remains. While some names of those interred in the hospital cemetery have been recovered, most seem to have been lost.
In 1953, it became illegal in Washington for hospitals to bury their dead. From that point until Northern State Hospital closed in 1973, the remains of unclaimed patients were buried at Hawthorne Memorial Park in Mount Vernon. Before the Northern State Hospital crematorium was demolished, 204 dusty cans of ashes with patient numbers written on them were discovered in the building's attic. It seems that someone had forgotten to bury them. They were then taken to Hawthorne Memorial Park for interment. Unfortunately, they were neglected there too and in 1983 were finally buried in a common grave by the cemetery's entrance, decades after those patients had passed away. A simple tombstone with no names of the deceased marks the grave.
According to staff, Hawthorne Memorial Park has the names of the patients whose remains lie anonymously in the common grave, but they are not allowed to disclose them to the public. These precious souls have been discarded and forgotten by this world for far too long. They deserve to have their names etched in stone as much as anyone else.
It would be a beautiful thing if someone with the appropriate expertise and financial means could work with Hawthorne Memorial Park to right this wrong and erect a proper memorial for these 204 individuals who, like the rest of us, were made in the image and likeness of God.
Rest in heavenly peace, dear souls, in the arms of a Father who knows each of you by name.
From 1912 to 1953, deceased patients of Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, whose remains were never claimed, were buried in the hospital cemetery. Sadly, a state law required them to be buried in anonymity to protect family surnames from the shame of being associated with a mental asylum. Thus, a grave marker could only be stamped with a grave number and the patient's initials. Catholics were buried in makeshift caskets, while people of other faiths were cremated. It is said that containers of unclaimed ashes were gathered together and buried in common plots with nothing to mark the final resting place of those individuals' remains. While some names of those interred in the hospital cemetery have been recovered, most seem to have been lost.
In 1953, it became illegal in Washington for hospitals to bury their dead. From that point until Northern State Hospital closed in 1973, the remains of unclaimed patients were buried at Hawthorne Memorial Park in Mount Vernon. Before the Northern State Hospital crematorium was demolished, 204 dusty cans of ashes with patient numbers written on them were discovered in the building's attic. It seems that someone had forgotten to bury them. They were then taken to Hawthorne Memorial Park for interment. Unfortunately, they were neglected there too and in 1983 were finally buried in a common grave by the cemetery's entrance, decades after those patients had passed away. A simple tombstone with no names of the deceased marks the grave.
According to staff, Hawthorne Memorial Park has the names of the patients whose remains lie anonymously in the common grave, but they are not allowed to disclose them to the public. These precious souls have been discarded and forgotten by this world for far too long. They deserve to have their names etched in stone as much as anyone else.
It would be a beautiful thing if someone with the appropriate expertise and financial means could work with Hawthorne Memorial Park to right this wrong and erect a proper memorial for these 204 individuals who, like the rest of us, were made in the image and likeness of God.
Rest in heavenly peace, dear souls, in the arms of a Father who knows each of you by name.
Gravesite Details
On the west side of the drive, a few steps from the cemetery's main entrance by E College Way.
