Shaw Family Mausoleum - Ferndale Cemetery - Ferndale, CA
N 40° 34.466 W 124° 15.802
10T E 393067 N 4492283
The Ferndale Cemetery is one of the most photographed cemeteries in California. The Shaw pioneer family mausoleum stands out among the rest of the graves and contains a beautiful but small stained glass window.
Waymark Code: WM18N59
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 08/27/2023
Views: 0
The Shaw family mausoleum located within Ferndale Cemetery stands out on a hillside amongst many other headstones, beckoning visitors to inspect it more closely. You will be welcomed with a very nice granite structure with columns, quoins, and a cross with a masonic symbol chiseled on the eave. If you look inside the mausoleum, you'll see a beautiful stained glass window that casts a glow on a sunny day. The mausoleum is home to Ferndale's first citizens, Seth Louis Shaw and his wife, Isabella, who built a beautiful Victorian home in 1854 that still survives today as a bed and breakfast. Seth passed away in 1872 at 56 years of age. Isabella passed away in 1899 at 74 years of age. Other family members are interred in this mausoleum, including two children the couple lost; Lewis Armitage Shaw, aged 4, in 1856; and Stella Matilda Shaw, aged 4, in 1860.
Findagrave.com contains a quick bio on Seth Shaw and it reads:
"In 1852 Seth Louis Shaw and his brother claimed two parcels of land on the West side of the Eel River near the present day city of Eureka. Seth Louis Shaw, in 1854, began construction of the first large house in the area and named it "Fern Dale." When it became the first post office, the new settlement also adopted the name. Today the community is one of the very best examples of Victorian style architecture in existence and there are a number of beautiful bed and breakfast inns located in the town including "Fern Dale" which is now known as "The Shaw House Bed & Breakfast Inn," located at 703 Main Street. This town showplace is a notable example of Carpenter-Gothic architecture. Seth was the first justice of the peace and postmaster of Ferndale, the first Humboldt County coroner, the first master of the Masonic Lodge; and he directed the 1870 census."