Visit the Novelty Hills Cemetery

Property Description:

Novelty Hills Cemetery is located on a hillside off Novelty Hill & 124th Street roundabout south 3.6 miles of the town of Duvall and east of the Snoqualmie River. The land occupies a roughly rectangular 4.41-acre property composed of three parcels proximately. The cemetery is on a rolling terrain surrounded by second growth Douglas Fir Forest, sloping evenly to the NW at a 10% grade. Surrounding parcels are occupied by large-lot rural residential development. This well-maintained property is entered through a brick and wrought iron gate in the SW corner. Approximately 1.5 acres of the property are in use for the graves and roadway; much of the rest is graded and planted with lawn.

Landscaping is limited to lawn and very few plantings, almost all to the east of the loop road at the top of the slope.

Buildings are limited to a small prefabricated steel shed for storage and maintenance equipment, located in the NW corner of the property. A flagpole stands just downhill from the middle upper section of the loop road. At the base of the pole is a small Veterans memorial installed by American Legion Post No. 75. A center lane through the cemetery wide enough for a single vehicle has been graveled following the original, pioneer-era pathway and some of the oldest graves are in the farthest east corners of the property. A gate surrounds the property with entry points at the west and south side of the center lane.

The hilltop is very peaceful, quiet, and often has a gentle breeze. To the west the cemetery overlooks the Snoqualmie River Valley, to the north the rounded peak of Mt. Baker is visible, and to the south is the Mount Rainer. Currently lush trees are blocking the view of the river; however, when the trees are sparse in the fall and winter your view is less obstructed. There have been multiple pioneer families maintaining the grounds for 100 years.

There are seven hundred and thirty-five (735) known gravesites at the cemetery; approximately a third of them are occupied by pioneers and their descendants. The oldest grave at the cemetery dates to 1902. Thirty-eight (38) graves were found via sonar in 2019 occupied and unmarked. Early graves remain unmarked or are marked with more modern headstones; however, others have been preserved in their original state or repaired. one hundred and four Veterans are buried at Novelty Hills; which is 14% of the resting population.

History:

In 1886, an early pioneer and saloon keeper James O'Leary deeded an acre of land to the Squak Methodist Church for the building of a church and cemetery. The half-acre cemetery behind the church was used by Duvall's early pioneers, but for only a few short years because seepage from the upper slopes kept the ground constantly wet & soggy.

In 1900 a committee was formed including; Haratio Allen, Milo Clark, Alexander Adair, Alfred Pickering, John Dougherty Sr., Daniel McKay, and Andrew Peterson, all whom are buried at Novelty Hills, homesteaded the cemetery. The land was purchased by Mr. C Dameyer, also buried at Novelty Hills.

In 1909 and 1910 when a portion of the pioneer cemetery had to be excavated for the Great Northern Railroad right-of-way, about 20 bodies were moved, many to the new Novelty Hill Cemetery south of Duvall. The Novelty area was originally settled in the 1870's. The community was in favor of naming the area "Boyce" after a popular local figure. Mr. Boyce preferred instead they name the area "Novelty" after the home town of his youth, Novelty, Missouri.

Some of the birth dates on the headstones date back to 1835 and there are many from the 1860's. There are the names of the men that represented their country in the Spanish-American War as well as both World Wars. There are 104 Veterans buried in Novelty; which is 14% of the residents. The Renton-Pickering Post No. 79 of the American Legion has erected a memorial to these men. Veterans include Duvall/Novelty residents Stanley A Bourke Pvt. Cl. 7 U.S. Vol. Sig Corp died April 27, 1943. Fred Bohren 1875-1914, Smith Benham Died March 18, 1901. Joseph Herzog 1888-1910, George E Meyers Co. H 6 Calif. Inf. SP.AM.WAR. Additionally, to the men that served and buried at Novelty are the women volunteers that manned the 12'x12' aircraft spotter station for the civil defense department. Volunteers buried in Novelty Hill include Verle Bowe, Velma Hill and Mrs. Bennet.

There are many prominent pioneers and generations of family members buried at the Novelty Cemetery. Take for instance my family. My great-grandmother and 2nd woman Mayor of Duvall Cora Roney 1877-1959. Her son, my grandfather, Ward Roney Sr. the longest tenure King County Superior Court Judge 1903-1984. We have recognized our descendants and honoring them by naming street & topographical areas after them.

Horatio Lynsander Allen 1851-1916 Hariatio was on a committee with historians such as; Milo Clark, Alfred Pickering, & John Dougherty. The committee was to find dryer ground than the cemetery located up Cherry Valley Road. He was on the school board and on the Board of Directors of the Duvall State Bank.

Alvie Miller, He lived on the Pole Line Road ¼ mile out of Duvall. He was a farmer, Granger, Teamster and did all kinds of work around Duvall.

Cora Roney was part of the all-women Duvall City Council and female Mayor Mrs. S.A. Bourke.

Manion: Had the first hardware store in Duvall. The building was later owned by E.J. Baker and it burned in 1924 and was re-built with the Grange occupying the hall upstairs.

Anderson: George Monroe Anderson came to Duvall with his father in 1913. He put in the electrical system for the Town of Duvall. The power came from the shingle mill by the river, not far from the water supply system. In 1919 he and his father, T.A. Anderson purchased the building on the corner of Main and Stewart that had been built for use as a Moose Hall. From 1919 to 1946, that building was known as Anderson Garage. George Anderson through those many ears served the Town of Duvall well. He maintained the pump at the well, the town's water supply. He worked on broken water mains, many times through the night when work was done by hand. The old records show he also served as Councilman.

Beadon Hall was born in Nebraska in 1887. He established the Duvall State Bank in 1912. He established other banks such as the Holt Bank I 1918 and followed by forming banks in Snoqualmie, North Bend, Issaquah and Bellevue. Branches were set up at Mercer Island and East gate in 1955. In 1956 the Seattle First National Bank bought out the Holt Banking chain. At that time Hall was made Vice President of the First National Banking chair and remained at Snoqualmie. He retired in 1962. He devoted a good deal of time to the Methodist Church both at Duvall and Snoqualmie.

Comegys: Past school director and clerk of the Cherry Valley Townsite Company.

Other names that have been used who were local residents and buried in Novelty Hill include: Taylor, Bird, Stewart, Virginia, Cherry, Stella, Kennedy, Richardson, Brown, Dorothy, Park, Valley, Stephens and Burhen. All grave owners are members of the Novelty Hills Cemetery Association. Burials occurred soon after the cemetery was founded, but many of the burials disinterred in 1909 from the Cherry Valley Cemetery in Duvall were moved here.

Cherry Valley Pioneer Cemetery

The Pioneer Cemetery is located adjacent to the Dougherty Farmstead. The Pioneer Cemetery is located adjacent to the Dougherty Farmstead. Read more about the history of the Cherry Valley Pioneer Cemetery by clicking HERE.