Cemeteries are more than a place of rest; they are physical records of the history of their communities. Nestled on a green hillside above the Tucannon River, the Starbuck Cemetery tells the story of the rise and fall of this small farming community.

In 1897, James G. Woodend gave land to Starbuck in the Woodend Addition for a cemetery. The only person buried in the Starbuck Cemetery before the land was given by Woodend was two-year-old Arthur R. Hukill. Arthur is one of the 13 children buried in Starbuck who died during the town’s infancy. A majority of deaths occurred predominantly between 1900-1920 and 1980-2000.

Many of the headstones from the early 20th century are elegant and even ornate, showing that this was the peak of the town’s prosperity. For example, Mary A. Wood’s gravestone was crafted during the early 1900s when the town was booming with people and business from the railroads. Wood’s gravestone illustrates the pearly gates leading to a heavenly mansion with the engraved scripture, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” Her headstone is one of several that represent the turn-of-the-century prosperous Starbuck.

In 1969, the cemetery was renovated by a youth group in Starbuck. They cleaned weeds and debris and picked up headstones that had fallen over. The group also piped water to the cemetery to water the grass and the fences around it were repaired. Esther Stoddard Butler, who has a grave in this cemetery today, donated money for the renovation.

One of the most prominent families in Starbuck is represented by Zachery Z. Zink IV, who also happens to be the newest grave in the Starbuck Cemetery. He lived only twenty years, and his parents buried him in the year 2000 with an engraving on his headstone that says, “In Loving Memory of our Son.” The Zink family has been living in Starbuck since its first decades. The Zinks owned their own store, which stayed open through the years when most didn’t and is still standing today. Zachery Zink I, II, and III all served as mayors of Starbuck. The Zinks were also one of the first three families to own a car, more specifically, a Model-T, in Starbuck.

Despite the cemetery records being destroyed in a fire sometime prior to 1982, there are still many stories one can learn from the graves in the Starbuck Cemetery.

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Starbuck is a small town of only 129 residents located in southeastern Washington near the Snake River. It has a warm climate and mild winters. The Snake River, Tucannon River, and surrounding land make the area ideal for farming and ranching. One may wonder how a small town such as Starbuck came into existence in rural Washington.

During the late 1870s, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (later known as the Union Pacific Company) built a railroad and Starbuck became a small station along the route. As men were employed at this station, they would bring their families with them. A store, warehouse, and blacksmith were soon constructed. By 1882, Starbuck was a bustling railroad town. Three years later, the Pomeroy line from Starbuck to Pomeroy was built. This line brought in more visitors and money to Starbuck. By 1895, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company had built a general merchandise store, a grocery store, a cigar and tobacco shop, a drugstore, a restaurant, two hotels (including the McIntosh Hotel and the Pearson House), a shoe shop, a tailor shop, a blacksmith shop, and a livery stable.

In 1893, an official of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, W.H. Starbuck of New York, named the small town by presenting it with a bell for their first Presbyterian Church. After the church was later demolished, the bell was put into storage for several years until it was finally hung in one of Starbuck’s parks on Front and Baxter Street in 1953.

The Great Depression, starting in 1929, nearly turned Starbuck into a ghost town. The bank closed and homes were sold and demolished. Farmers were asked to stop farming and raising pigs because there was a surplus of wheat and pigs. Many residents and farmers went into debt trying to make a living in Starbuck. Luckily, the residents were able to benefit from an organization Roosevelt created called the Works Progress Administration which employed men to build and repair roads and public works. Remnants of this work remain in the town till this day.

Although Starbuck was prone to floods for most of their existence, the town was able to make many improvements to prevent them from happening. After a disastrous flood swept through Starbuck in the early 1960s, dikes were built along the Tucannon, and Starbuck did not experience another flood. Later in that decade, workers began construction on the Lower Monumental Dam and the Little Goose Dam in the Snake River. Being one of the nearest towns to these dams, Starbuck’s population jumped from 200 to 1,000 residents almost overnight. Trailer parks and businesses on wheels flooded the town. Starbuck benefited from this economic boom, as it allowed them to improve the aesthetics of their town.

Today Starbuck is a quiet hamlet of 129 souls. The residents work at the Rawhide Bar N Grill and Darver Tackle, and many enjoy going to Starbuck every Fourth of July for a fantastic lighting of fireworks.

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Palouse Falls State Park, located 18 miles southeast of Washtucna, is a beautiful recreational campground that offers a breathtaking view of the Palouse Falls. The Palouse Falls and the surrounding land were carved out by the ice age floods that raged through the area millions of years ago. The Palouse Indians did not believe the Palouse Falls were created by a flood but rather by Beaver who was being hunted by four giant brothers. To honor Palouse Indian culture, the name of the falls was changed to Palouse Falls from “Aput Aput” meaning “falling water,” as the Palouse Tribe called it.

Palouse Falls has made a powerful impression on all who have visited. For example, one of the fall’s earliest visitors, Laurence L. Dodd in 1867, described the site he saw this way: “just before descending the Snake river hill your eye rests on the grateful green bottom of the Palouse with its clear and pure waters, flowing into the turbid Snake and after ascending the Snake river hill to the northward and eastward, the eye sweeps over a vast extent of country rarely surpassed in rugged desolation and wildness.…” Dodd was accompanied by a few Starbuck citizens on horseback to witness the scene he described.

In 1945, Palouse Falls State Park was created. It was dedicated on June 3rd, 1951. The 299 acres that make up the entirety of this vast park were donated by The Baker-Boyer National Bank of Walla Walla, J.M. McGregor of the McGregor Land and Livestock Company of Hooper, and Mrs. Agnes Sells, a resident of Washtucna.

Palouse Falls State Park is located off Highway 261, which branches off Highway 260 out of Washtucna. Today, the park offers hiking, fishing, birdwatching, picnicking, camping, and a hiking trail that “overlooks this natural wonder from an observation shelter with historical displays.”

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