CONTENTS

• About Sunnyside Cemetery
• Mission Statement
• Board meetings

In 1869, Isaac Ebey's sister, Mary Ebey Bozarth, sold the one and a quarter acre where he was buried to the county for $1.00. While there are older grave markers there, such as Rebecca Ebey, 1853, they were actually exhumed and transferred to Sunnyside. Since that time, there have been six parcels of acreage added to Sunnyside, keeping pace with Whidbey Island's expanding population.

Many people visit our cemetery to mourn or simply feel closer to their loved ones, but others come for the peaceful solitude, beauty and history. The Davis block house, built in 1855, reminds people of the Indian wars and the monuments, with all of their symbolism, tell their own stories. The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars place flags and have a Memorial Day ceremony, and the Island County Historical Society sponsors a number of walking tours during the summer.

Today, the cemetery is well maintained by dedicated caretakers, volunteers and a publicly elected Board of Commissioners. Resolutions are in place to protect the old part of the cemetery to maintain its history and integrity as a pioneer burying ground. Contact the staff and the board members through this link: CONTACT

Alanson Warner Arnold, the great-grandfather of past Cemetery Commisioner, Valerie Arnold, said:

"It was in the early 1860s I chanced to stand on the elevated prairie, near where the graveyard on Ebey's Prairie is now, that my idol was broken. It was the first time in all my travels that I had seen so complete a picture as was here presented. Looking south was a valley of some two thousand acres with now and then a farmhouse near the willow groves that dotted the prairie, and all bordered with evergreen forests. On the east was the water of Saratoga Passage backed by the Cascade Mountains. On the west the straits of Admiralty and the Olympics, while to the south, towering above them all, stood giant Rainier looking down on this garden spot of Puget Sound."

Board Meetings

Public Meeting Dates are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 5:30 pm.

Subject to change when unforeseen circumstances occur.