A Brief History

Located at 6262 Oak St. in the community of Happy Valley, Shasta County, California, the Happy Valley Cemetery is composed of approximately 7.3 acres. The cemetery association was established in 1887 with Mervin P. Buffum, J. C. Duncan, H. H. Finley, J. H. Montgomery, and N. H. Beeves as the Board of Trustees.

On January 24, 1887, Warren A. Brown, of Yolo County, deeded the first parcel of property, approximately two acres, to the association for a consideration of $40, with the reservation of a piece of land 40 feet square at such point as he may select. On September 6, 1902, an additional 20-foot strip was acquired from Irvin Ulrey to "square up the boundaries." A third parcel of about 5.25 acres was acquired on June 12, 1972 by a gift deed from Thomas and Roberta Plotts and Robert and Ardelle Plotts.

The first burials were also in 1887, only three years after the initial settlement of the community. The first man buried in the cemetery was J. W. (Will) Burtner, who was buried July 11, 1886. A child known only as "Baby Armstrong" was buried some time later in 1886. The first woman buried in the cemetery was Martha Elizabeth (Walton) Landon, who was buried June 25, 1887.

The Master Roll

The Happy Valley Cemetery Association maintains a Master Roll of the known burials in the Happy Valley Cemetery. There is a number of unknown graves within the cemetery because, over the years, some grave stones have been destroyed or lost. As well, a fire in the 1960's destroyed some of the cemetery records. The Association, however, has a program to mark unknown graves and to replace deteriorating markers on some graves.

The Master Roll index is a searchable data base contained on this website. It contains the name of the deceased, date of birth and date of death, if known, as well as the maiden name of married women, if known. Persons with questions regarding the history of the cemetery or persons within the cemetery are encouraged to contact Melody Landon by email at mdgregory.1_1@juno.com.