Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery

Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery, also known as Pioneer Cemetery, is a historic cemetery located near the Grand Canyon's South Rim. [1][2] It is also known as South Rim Cemetery and the American Legion Cemetery due to its association with the veterans' organization.

The cemetery is home to some 400 individual graves.[3][4] The cemetery closed to new burials in 2017, but remains open for visitation.[5]

Burial criteria include a three-year stint at the Park, and a significant contribution thereto.[6] Among those buried there are pioneers, NPS administrators of Grand Canyon National Park and residents of Grand Canyon Village including John Hance (1840–1919) early white settler and Grand Canyon guide,[4]^: 23–27 Pete Berry, Ralph H. Cameron (1863–1953) American businessman, prospector, and politician[4]^: 33–37 William Wallace Bass, members of the Kolb Family (Ellwworth and Emery), who established the Kolb Studio,[4]^: 39–49 and M.R. Tillotson. Hance is the first to have been buried there.[7] Also buried in the cemetery are the unidentified remains of the victims on the United Airlines flight involved in the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, with a cenotaph of 31 names.[4]^: 59–62[8]

Other noteworthy burials include:

• William J. Breed (1928–2013) geologist and expert on the Grand Canyon[4]^: 80
• David White (1862–1935) who studied the Grand Canyon[4]^: 77–78
• Gunnar Widforss (1879–1934) Swedish-American painter.[4]^: 91–92