The second annual La Plata County Historic Driving Tour, to be held Saturday, will visit four cemeteries in the Bayfield and Ignacio areas.
The public is invited to join the tour and caravan from site to site or stop by any of the sites individually at the set time. There will be a presentation of the local history at each cemetery, and the timing will allow for a 20-minute drive time to the next cemetery.
The La Plata County Historic Preservation Review Commission is hosting the event in celebration of May as historic preservation month. The tour will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tour stops:
10 a.m. – Orientation at the Pine River Public Library, 395 Bayfield Center.
10:20 a.m. – Pine River Cemetery, 405 County Road 501. The cemetery dates to 1883, 15 years before Bayfield was founded.
11:30 a.m. – Florida Cemetery, 2061 County Road 225. Many members of pioneer Pine River Valley families are buried here, including McClures, Hoods and Hamptons.
1 p.m. – Oxford Cemetery, 4512 County Road 311. The first burial here was Mrs. Hattie Maynes, who died from a flu epidemic in 1917.
2 p.m. – Ignacio East Cemetery, 9522 County Road 321. It was established in 1911 when burials were relocated from the west side of town.
For a tour brochure and map, visit http://bit.ly/1E5kHw4. For additional information, contact the La Plata County Planning Department at 382-6263.
johnp@durangoherald.com
