Congratulations and thanks to the efforts of the children of the Religious Education program and member Stephen Betzen, our grounds have been officially certified as a
Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary by the National Wildlife Federation and
the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.
Charter member, Harry Jones, prepared this map which
illustrates our Church grounds and walking trails.
According to our founders, the UUCOC church grounds were originally a part of a much larger plot which included the Five Mile Cemetery to the east. Harry Jones' watercolor shows the location of the original Cockrell Hill Baptist Church on the NW corner of the property.
That church building was still standing when the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship purchased the 4.89 acres, but it was being used as a horse barn at the time. The building was eventually razed because it had become unstable and a hazard.
As the cemetery was apparently started in 1869, this land has been used in religious ways for at least 140 years.
