June 20, 7:00pm
At the Kitsap History Museum
In January 2023, the Elizabeth Ellington Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution started looking for a local project that would help celebrate America’s 250th birthday in 2026. After hearing about the great need at Seabeck Cemetery and understanding its importance to Washington State’s history, the Elizabeth Ellington DAR Chapter decided to commit to preserving, restoring and historically marking the Seabeck Cemetery.
Founded in 1860, the Seabeck Cemetery currently sits on 1.25 acres of land up the hill from Seabeck Bay on the southern edge of the Seabeck Conference Center’s property. Two lumber mills were built in Seabeck Bay which drew people from as far away as Maine and Ohio, even immigrants from Ireland and Norway.
Over the last 160 years, the cemetery has been maintained on and off by caretakers, historians, and most recently by the Seabeck Conference Center. Unfortunately, the cemetery has seen its share of vandalism with stones being pushed over, broken, and stolen. The ever-encroaching salal has been cleared several times, but has now overtaken the whole grounds again.
Come hear from the Elizabeth Ellington DAR chapter members and chairs of this project, Candace Kolbas and Amy Brooks, about the work that has been done so far in the Seabeck Cemetery, their future plans to restore this Washington pioneer cemetery, and preserve the stories of the people buried there.