The establishment of the Lakewood Memorial Park met an existing community need. Increasing population along the Tuolumne River in the days of the '49ers required a burial ground. By the turn of the century, continued growth on each side of the river brought a need for larger grounds, resulting a few years later in the Empire Hughson Cemetery. A half century later, the extended community needed additional interment grounds. Most existing cemeteries, near the large population growth a few miles down the Tuolumne River, were surrounded by urban development and were unable to expand. The land surrounding the Empire Hughson Cemetery, including the original Pioneer Burial Plot, was an ideal site. With the aid of community planners, a group of citizens brought about the beginnings of a solution to this area's need. The Empire Hughson Cemetery Association, a California corporation, was the organization that worked to develop and operate the facility which became known as Lakewood Memorial Park. Over 100 years have passed, and one thing that remains is a marker placed by the Native Daughters of the Golden West in commemoration of our early pioneers, which is the cemetery.

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