Vaughn Bay Cemetery Goes Digital with State Grant

The volunteer-run Vaughn Bay Cemetery has completed a major project to preserve more than a century of burial records by moving them into a digital, cloud-based system accessible to the public.

The project was funded in part through a historic cemetery grant from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. It included the digitization of burial records dating back to 1891, along with the installation of an interactive cemetery map and QR code sign to help visitors locate gravesites.

According to Vaughn Bay Cemetery President Joe Dervaes, the cemetery was established in 1890 after two pioneering Key Peninsula families — the Maxwells and Irwins — donated land for what became a community cemetery. One of the first burials was Jacob L. Maxwell. Since then, more than 11,000 burials have taken place at the cemetery.

The original state grant totaled $11,478, but later increased to $16,978 through two amendments after the scope of the project expanded. Total project costs reached $21,669.63, with the cemetery covering the remaining $4,691.63 through its own funds.

Dervaes said the increase came after contractor Chronicle discovered the cemetery’s records were far more extensive than expected.

“They had never seen any cemetery that had as much information as we do on the people who are buried here,” Dervaes wrote in the cemetery’s final report to the state.

The project transferred decades of cemetery records previously stored on Dervaes’ personal computer into a permanent cloud-based archive.

The new Chronicle system allows visitors to search gravesites online by name or plot number, then use a smartphone QR code and interactive map to locate exact burial sites within the cemetery. Volunteers spent dozens of hours walking the cemetery grounds, measuring plots, checking markers, and verifying burial locations before drone imagery and GPS mapping were used to build the system.

“That’s a huge leap forward,” Dervaes told the KP News. “This new system is top-of-the-line for systems keeping records for cemeteries.”

A new welcome sign featuring cemetery history, a QR code, and interactive mapping tools was also installed on the cemetery grounds. The sign directs visitors to searchable burial information and real-time navigation assistance.

The cemetery’s official searchable records are available through Chronicle’s website at https://chronicle.rip. Visitors create a free account, search for Vaughn Bay Cemetery, and then for gravesites.

Dervaes said locating family gravesites has historically been the most common question asked by visitors, making the searchable online system especially valuable for genealogy and family history research.

Four cemetery board members worked directly on the project, including Joe and Peggy Dervaes and Matthew and Lisa Mills.

There are still years of records that he and other volunteers are entering or updating, so someone searching for a name may not find it yet, or all of the relevant information. If that happens, Dervaes said, anyone with a question can contact him through Vaughn Bay Cemetery.

While the cemetery is embracing new technology, it also continues longstanding traditions honoring the community’s history and veterans.

In May, the cemetery again served as the site for the annual Aisle of Honor Memorial Day tribute organized by the Key Peninsula Veterans.

The ceremony featured approximately 350 casket flags displayed throughout the cemetery grounds alongside individual military service flags surrounding the cemetery’s main flagpole. Dervaes said the annual display is one of the most decorated cemetery tributes west of the Mississippi River.