Located just off the old Applegate Trail west of Imlay, Nevada, this out of place grave is that of Susan McCord Coon.  Born February 9, 1819, she & her husband Isaac left Coles County, Illinois headed in their wagon like many other pioneers for the west, seeking out gold & land.  However it was here that she fell into labor with her son Robert & her health & stamina were giving out.  After her son was born on August 9, 1860 (& would survive), she ended up with a continuous discharge of blood.  She was wrapped in blankets where she fell ill into pneumonia & died quickly two days later.  This location, a mile off the trail & close to Big Antelope Spring, was where she would be buried.

Frank Dunn, a stonecutter who was with the wagon party, spent the night carving the original headstone from native rock where one can see it in this view today.  In fact it remains as one of a few original headstones along the wagon trail today.  Unfortunately vandals have broken it & only half of it remains today.

Nearby is another small epitaph for two men, James Bailey & William Cook from Unionville, Nevada, who were killed here two years later on July 9, 1862 by Indians while freighting between the Humboldt Mines & California.  There are supposedly other graves located here (thus giving the name Majuba Mountain Cemetery) of the same time period, but they lack any identification.

In this photo, while taking my panorama, I heard a distant vehicle coming this way, finding it to be a jeep parked just below.  Being so remote I did not expect to meet anybody here.  From there I met Ed Hagen (pictured here) & his wife Sheryl (who was keeping cool in the shade of the distant juniper behind) from El Dorado County, California.  Ed was a fifth generation descendant of Susan Coon, now a retired logger & ranch owner who shared with me a wealth of history of the family & the wagon trail.  Most of the family settled in northern California, around the Corning & Placerville areas.  The Hagens were revisiting the grave as it had been a few years; this time planning with other family members for a get-together at this spot for the following day.  

Like the plaque reads: This is a part of your American heritage.  Honor it, protect it, preserve it for your children.