Daggett Pioneer Cemetery

The cemetery was established in the late 1880s, with the first documented burial in 1888 (Benny Bahten). It served the community of Daggett, which began as “Calico Junction” in the 1860s–1880s as a railhead and supply point for the nearby Calico silver mines and later borax operations. The town was renamed in honor of John Daggett, a California lieutenant governor.

Daggett experienced several boom periods tied to silver, borax mining, and the railroad. When Route 66 came through in the 1920s, it passed directly by the cemetery, making it a visible landmark for travelers. The cemetery contains roughly 300+ graves (including many unmarked or marked only with simple white wooden crosses and rock outlines). Burials span from the 1880s to the present day, though most activity was in the pioneer era. It includes miners, railroad workers, ranchers, and early settlers.