Established ca. 1912
Acreage: .6 acres (26,300 sq. ft)
Number of Burials: 30
Number of Grave Markers: 24
Site Description: The cemetery is irregular in shape and wraps around the
Russian Orthodox Cemetery. It is located on a high bank above Douglas Highway which slopes
steeply upward. A large white cross about 20 feet high dominates the site. Most grave markers
and family plots are located at the top of the slope with numerous depressions evident below.
Markers are wood, concrete, and stone with many in ruins. Historic photos indicate a fence
once surrounded the cemetery. No evidence of the fence remains.
Records were not available to confirm the establishment of the Catholic Cemetery and there
was no mention of it in newspapers of 1911 or 1912. However the grave of H. P. Carroll was the
earliest marker identified with a date of 1912. Lillian McCormick, of a prominent Douglas
Catholic family, was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery in 1911. According to a family
member, this was because the Catholic Cemetery was not yet developed. It appears that all
other McCormick family members were buried in the Catholic Cemetery.
The survey revealed 24 burial site markers. Based upon visual observations of ground
depressions only another 6 burial sites are evident. This number may be low, however, as the
area may have been regarded to plant and maintain grass. The descendants of the McCormick
Family are primarily responsible for maintaining the cemetery by cutting the grass and
periodically brush the area.
The Catholic Cemetery is located between the Odd Fellows and Native cemeteries. A stand of
Spruce trees lies between the Catholic and Odd Fellows cemeteries and there is a small
drainage ditch separating the Catholic and Native cemeteries. The Catholic Cemetery slopes
gently up hill from a service road to the base of a condominium housing development. A large
white cross is centered at the top of the cemetery. Most of the identifiable burial sites are
toward the top of the slope. There are two burial sites at the lower end between the service
road and Douglas Highway.
The earliest burial date identified was of H. P. Carroll, October 2, 1912. The most recent
date is June 6, 1995 when the ashes of Kathleen Mary McCormick was placed at the family plot.
The grave markers in the Catholic Cemetery are a mixture of upright and flat granite either
engraved of featuring a brass plaque. A couple of wooden markers remain but are deteriorating
badly. The family plots feature low concrete boundary walls. The newer markers all lie flat.
Some of the prominent persons buried in the Catholic Cemetery are:
- Anton Afric: Born in Austria on January 29, 1877, died on December 8, 1937. He worked as a miner at the Treadwell Mine and later for the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company. He was a member of the Moose and Croation Lodges. An ad in a local newspaper refers to the Africh & Africh (sic) store and residence which he may have operated with his brother John.
- Tom Cashen: Born on January 8, 1873, died on September 13, 1931. He was working as a blacksmith at the Treadwell Mine as early as 1901, when he married Sadie King. He continued working at the trade until the Treadwell cave-in in 1917. In 1925 he was a wharfinger for the city of Douglas.
- Richard McCormick, Sr.: Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania on August 8, 1859, died in Pacific Grove, California on May 3, 1934. He moved to Treadwell in 1886 where he worked as a blacksmith at the Mexican Mine. He married Nora Connors in 1888 with whom he had eleven children. He served as a postmaster at Treadwell in 1911 and later was employed at the Treadwell Foundry.
- Madeline Riedi: Born in Alsace Lorraine (Germany) on July 16, 1885, died on October 1, 1947. She and her husband Joseph, arrived in Douglas around 1907. The operated a grocery store, a bakery and later a restaurant with Joseph's brother George who was a well known baker in Douglas since 1898.
- Mat Slujo: Born in Austria on January 15, 1886, died May 15, 1921. He was reportedly the last person to die at the Treadwell before it closed. He worked at the Ready Bullion mine, the only mine of the Treadwell group of mines not flooded in the 1917 cave-in. His widow, Sarka, was the daughter of Anton Krasel, a tailor, who operated a business on St. Anns Avenue as early as 1910.