Some times, there is no such thing as a final resting place. In most cases what occurs, is a family relocates a graves(s) from one cemetery to another. This was not the case with the Prattville Cemetery, now located on the west shore of Lake Almanor.
The town of Prattville was established in 1867, it what was known as Big Meadows. During the summer months, folks from the Sacramento Valley flocked there to escape the summer heat. One must remember this pre-air conditioned times.
The first burial in what would become the Prattville Cemetery occurred on June 17, 1864 with the internment of James Lee. In 1925, Great Wester Power Company announced its intention to enlarge Lake Almanor, and thus the cemetery would have to be moved. In October 1926 Kenneth Murray of Greenville was hired to exhume 101 bodies and relocate them 300 yards to the west. A.D. Greig of the Susanville Granite Works was in charge of relocating the thirty-five monuments in the cemetery. Those who have attended my cemetery tours, I always point out that are large percentage of graves are unmarked.
My grandmother was born in Prattville in 1902. Her name was Maryalice Costar. She used to mention two aunts she had with the last name of Lee. I believe one was named Eva. Where should I start in looking for information about them.
Greetings Jennifer,
For an easy start, if you click on the “search” icon at the top of the page (the little magnifying glass, upper right corner) and insert the name “Lee”, it will bring up anything related to “Lee” that Tim has written about or documented on this page. Probate records, obituaries, newspaper articles, court cases, etc. Tim is an incredible researcher and compiler…the best I have ever run into. That should give you a good start.