Preserving Tahoe's History

Lake Tahoe History Museum  530.541.5458

For many years, the Lake Tahoe Historical Society was the steward of the cemetery and completed research on those buried there, and Kiwanians cleaned up the property twice annually.. In 1974, South Tahoe High School student Donald Deede created a sign listing all of the known burials to date for his Eagle Scout Project. This sign is still in the Cemetery.

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In 2019, the newly organized Lake Tahoe Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution had the revitalization of the cemetery as their chapter’s long-term goal. They secured funding for a ground penetration radar that was completed in June 2020. There were 113 burials discovered, with five burials in the adjacent lot to the cemetery, which the California Tahoe Conservancy currently owns.

El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine secured a $5,000 grant for the restoration of the largest grave marker, that of Richard Peter (see top photo). His grave marker suffered from serious decline, and the funds restored both the stone and the fencing around it. 

Land for the cemetery was donated to the community by Assemblyman Rowland and his wife, Sophronia Dow Rowland in the second half of the 19th century.

Certificate of ownership to the City of South Lake Tahoe

​Al Tahoe Pioneer Cemetery

Seated is Assemblyman Rowland standing is his brother The Sage of Lake Tahoe

By 1851, year-round posts were established and settlers became permanent residents on Washoe land. One of the early settlements in Lake Tahoe was Rowlands Station. It included shops, a hotel, and later, the schoolhouse. This community was at the Lake’s edge and the cemetery was outside of the settlement. The first owner of the area that would later be known as Al Tahoe, was former California State Assemblyman Thomas Benton Rowland.

Before the white settlers came to the area now known as Lake Tahoe, the Washoe (Wa She Shu) people were in the region for thousands of years. The Wa She Shu had a name for the lake, Da ow aga. Lake Tahoe was the center of the universe for the Wa She Shu tribe. The area by the cemetery was where the tribe summered and it was called Imgi Wata, meaning “where the big fish run”.

Washoe couple at Lake Tahoe. Photo from The Saga of Lake Tahoe.

The community of Rowlands Station in area later known as Al Tahoe.

Washoe settlement at Rowlands Station from The Saga of Lake Tahoe, .

The cemetery in South Lake Tahoe is the Al Tahoe Pioneer Cemetery, located at 760 Alameda Avenue, and is the only historic cemetery in the Lake Tahoe basin. It is the final resting place for some of Tahoe’s earliest settlers.

The earliest burial of record in the cemetery was Richard Peters, buried in February 1868. Although the location of his burial is unknown, Thomas B. Rowland was buried in the cemetery in 1883. The last known burial was Fannie M. Rowland Barton in April 1959

Over the years, the Al Tahoe area, including the cemetery, was bought and sold five times. In 1966, Mr. Aram Harootunian, a local realtor and developer of the Al Tahoe neighborhood, deeded the cemetery to the City of South Lake Tahoe..

<- Mr. Richard Peter was born in Virginia in 1804, married Elizabeth Elvira, and they came west where he founded the Peters Station Hotel on Kingsbury Grade. He died in 1868 and was buried in the Al Tahoe Cemetery. 

In March 2022, the City of South Lake Tahoe allotted funds to upgrade the security measures for the cemetery. This included funds for security cameras, lighting, and improved locks. In addition, the Parks and Recreation Department will have funds for ongoing maintenance of the cemetery. Realizing that the City would benefit from input from local organizations, staff created the Al Tahoe Pioneer Cemetery Improvement Committee. The goal of the Committee is to act in an advisory capacity to City staff in regards to restoration, maintenance, and fundraising for the Cemetery. Members include representatives from: Lake Tahoe Historical Society, the Lake Tahoe Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Al Tahoe Community.

Partners on the restoration of the Pioneer Cemetery

Rowlands Station from The Saga of Lake Tahoe

Tombstone of A.H. Goodrich, the first school master in the southern end of Lake Tahoe. His decendents still live in his home in the Al Tahoe neighborhood.