Where in the World?
Did you ever wonder why Big Pine has two cemeteries? And why is one named Woodman?
Big Pine’s first cemetery was Crocker built in 1892, but when flooding caused issues, a fraternal organization called Woodmen of the World purchased a site for a new cemetery and burials there started in 1917. Eventually, improved drainage at Crocker allowed burials to resume.
Today, you can find the earliest burials at Woodman in the East 3 section. The original entrance was here and can still be seen at the northeast corner where stone pillars still stand.
Pillars at northeast corner
More About Woodman of the World
Woodman of the World headstone located at Crocker Cemetery
WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members.
The history of the organization includes numerous philanthropic efforts and community outreach projects; distinctive headstones depicting tree stumps across the United States and Canada before 1930.
Interestingly, there are none of these headstones at Woodman, however, there are a few examples at the Crocker Cemetery as shown here.
From The Big Pine Citizen Newspaper – December 15, 1917:
“Woodmen of the World No. 506, of Big Pine, took a long step forward at a special meeting Tuesday evening when they voted to purchase fifteen acres of the McDonald & Naylor tract of land south of Big Pine to be used as a public cemetery. It is the intention of the Woodmen to put a fence of American wire around the fifteen acres and erect two concrete pillars on each side of the main entrance. A curved arch will probably join these two pillars overhead. The Woodmen will reserve a plot in this cemetery for deceased members of the lodge, and will have a regular man hired to look after the grounds of the cemetery and to dig all graves. Lots in this cemetery will sell at the same price as the old cemetery. Today the Woodmen are going out to clean the brush off the new ground and prepare to fence it.”
