Mesa Cemetery is the final resting place of the city’s “founding fathers,” country crooner Waylon Jennings, Wild West entertainer Powder River Jack and thousands of others.
This weekend, you can stroll past their gravesites and learn how their lives shaped and shifted the future of what is now Arizona’s third largest city.
What’s happening: Historians, community leaders and relatives of the deceased will offer stories about them during Mesa Historical Museum’s annual self-guided tour Saturday from 8 to 10am.
Zoom in: You’ll get a glimpse of some of Mesa’s most impactful former residents, including:
Zedo Ishikawa: A Mesa High School football player who was killed in an accidental shooting in 1932. Legend says his final words were to tell his teammates to “carry on,” which remains the school’s motto to this day.
Ernesto Miranda: The man at the heart of the U.S. Supreme Court case that required law enforcement to inform individuals of their rights upon arrest.
Patient Zero: The son of Mesa’s first mayor was the first person to contract smallpox locally, leading to 44 deaths in 1883.
What they’re saying: “All of these people had interesting lives and interesting stories but when you go to a cemetery you see the headstone, but you don’t know what’s behind that name,” Mesa Historical Museum executive director Susan Ricci said.
Be smart: Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the gate and include admission to the Mesa Historical Museum.
