It is not know exactly when the cemetery near the Rhoads adobe was begun. The first known person buried in the cemetery is Sarah Rhoads Phillips who died in 1882 at the age of 35. She was the daughter of Daniel and Amanda Rhoads and was the wife of John Fisher Phillips. Four years later, her 52-year-old husband died, and he became the next to be buried at the cemetery. Six more family members were buried over the next 10 years.
Hauling granite rock from above Three Rivers Daniel Rhoads and his family labored for months to build the large mausoleum to house Rhoads and his wife Amanda. Rhoads finished the interior in cut and polished marble with two additional plaques mounted outside with their names. In December 1895, family patriarch Daniel Rhoads died. Amanda died on August 11, 1906 in Hanford. Both are interred in the mausoleum.
There are about 21 graves in the cemetery, including Daniel’s brother William B. Rhoads (1898), his sister Mary Elizabeth Rhoads Pierce (1899) and Amanda’s brother Justin Esrey (1900). There may be other unmarked graves as well.
In March of 1937 the Lemoore Cemetery District improved the road leading to the cemetery, did a general cleanup, repaired monuments and installed new fencing. The cemetery fell into disrepair over the years. The Rhoads cemetery was restored by the Lower Kings River Historical Society in 2002.
