COLUMBIA WARD CANNERY CHINESE CEMETERY, Kenai, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Project Archives by The Kenai Totem 
Tracers Genealogy Society totemtracers@hotmail.com

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This information is transcribed from "Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Death 
Records and Cemetery Inscriptions" compiled by Kenai Totem Tracers, 
copyright 1983, page 29.

Near the mouth of the Kenai River, off Mile 13 of Kalifornsky Beach Road 
near Kenai, are four mysterious graves.  Four carved posts, the size of 
railroad ties, mark the graves.  For years it was thought these were the 
graves of four Chinese men who had been imported from California to work 
at the cannery in the 1920's.  This was a common practice in Kenai's 
early years.  The deaths were apparently accidental drownings while the 
men were crossing the Kenai River in a skiff.  Crossing the river in 
small boats was common as there was no direct road or bridge at the time 
and it was over 20 miles by dirt road.

The mystery of who these Chinese people were was solved when a local 
Japanese resident translated the carvings on the posts.  They were not 
Chinese at all, but old style Japanese characters.  The common ending, 
"row", on each name is an old custom of naming that is now obsolete.

The site of these four graves is a grove of trees off Cannery Road near 
Columbia Ward Cannery and is respected for what it is.  Each grave is 
fenced off and is neither maintained nor vandalized.

1. 	Kichitarow SIKIGUCHI

2.	Shunzaburow MATUSSHITA

3.	Igirow SUKUDA

4.	Asagirow KATAYAMA