Lost Afterlife: Collections and Preservation at Pioneer Cemetery

Abstract

Cemeteries are outdoor, in situ collections that are at risk of destruction when unmanaged. Pioneer Cemetery in Carson City, Nevada, faces extreme loss despite being renowned as the oldest cemetery in the area, housing the graves of Nevada’s first pioneers. Many remain in unmarked graves as grave markers have been lost to natural and unnatural causes: weather and vandalism. Grave markers tell important historic, cultural, and artistic information about the past, and with a lack of care, this collection of information will be lost.