general information for Nez Perce County. [August 2005]
Local funeral home and monument makers: Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home 920 21st Avenue, Lewiston, ID 83501-6314. Phone: (208) 743-6541.
Cemetery burials are indexed and computerized.
Normal Hill Cemetery: 1122 Seventh Street, Lewiston, ID 83501-2829, telephone (208) 746-6857.
No official congregations in Lewiston, nearest being in Spokane, WA. The land-marked cemetery has a caretaker with a key. Access is open daily. Date of earliest known Jewish community in town: 1862. Noteworthy individuals buried in cemetery: Robert Grostein (founder of firm Grostein & Binnard), Abraham Binnard (founder of firm Grostein & Binnard). Both men were early Jewish pioneers in Idaho Territory and became quite successful. They both contributed to the development of Lewiston. Their firm assisted the U.S. government by leasing the government hundreds of mules during the Nez Perce and other Indian Wars. The cemetery is active for the Conservative and Reform communities.
This suburban cemetery on flat land is part of a municipal cemetery. A sign in English marks the cemetery. A continuous fence and a gate that locks surround the cemetery. Tombstones are datable from the 19th century. 1,000 to 5,000 gravestones are in cemetery, regardless of condition or position, with various stones shapes, all in great condition. Inscriptions on tombstones are English and Hebrew. The present owner of the cemetery property is the municipality. Properties adjacent to the cemetery are residential. The cemetery is visited frequently by private visitors. Past maintenance: patching of broken stones, cleaning of stones, clearing of vegetation, and fixing gate by regular caretaker. No vandalism. Weather erosion is to only threat. The vegetation overgrowth and water in the cemetery are a seasonal problem preventing access. David W. Albert, 211 West 56th Street, Apt. 33K, New York, NY 10019, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. completed the survey in 1999. He visited the cemetery in the summer of 1998 and spoke with the cemetery caretaker.
partial burial list. [August 2005]