Both cemetery and church were founded about 1898, with services being held in various homes until the adjacent church building was built. When the church was built, in 1905, the cemetery was moved here, to the site of the new church. The church was initially a Jesuit Mission, built by Jesuit missionary Father Aloysius Folchi, who was also responsible for the construction of St. Mary of the Rosary Parish in Chewelah.
As of this writing,
Find A Grave lists a total of 364 interments in the cemetery.
This 108 year old Catholic cemetery is still in use and is well maintained. Just inside the south gate (nearest the church) is a memorial, a bright white obelisk, dedicated to the memory of all veterans of all wars. The same memorial can be found in most cemeteries in the area. At the north end of the cemetery is another gate, installed in 2011, dedicated to the memory of Harold and Josephine Goforth. The cemetery itself is dedicated to the memory of Father Pius Mutter. Father Mutter was a long serving and much loved pastor of the church. There is an old story of the church, concerning Father Mutter, which I shall allow the church to relate here:
A popular parish legend involving beloved pastor, Father Pius Mutter, recounts the theft of the church’s altar cross, sanctuary lamp fixture, thurible, and other sanctuary implements. Every Sunday, Father Mutter pleaded that the “missing” items be returned, but to no avail, until finally, he threatened to cancel hunting season for the year, and all of a sudden, the “missing” items mysteriously returned.