History often remembers the grand monuments, but it routinely forgets the quietest lives. Back in July 1906, a four-month-old infant named Maytie Raker became the very first person laid to rest at the newly established Inglewood Park Cemetery. For a staggering 120 years, her final resting place sat completely anonymous. No stone. No marker. Just empty grass over a piece of local history.
That changed when city officials and cemetery executives gathered to dedicate a permanent headstone for Maytie, fixing a historical oversight that outlasted the surrounding city's founding.
A Cemetery Older Than the City Itself
Most people don't realize that Inglewood Park Cemetery predates the actual incorporation of Inglewood. When Maytie was buried on July 20, 1906, the area was just an unincorporated patch of Southern California farmland and small homesteads. The city itself didn't officially incorporate until February 1908.
Brendt Stallings, the CEO of Inglewood Park Cemetery, likes to point out that the grounds serve as a permanent anchor for the region. Long before modern sports arenas and massive infrastructure projects transformed the landscape, this burial ground was taking root. Yet, despite its historical weight, the cemetery's very first resident slipped through the cracks of record-keeping. Her plot remained unmarked for more than a century.
The Story of the Raker Family
Maytie wasn't the only heartbreak her parents endured. She was the first child born to King D. and Jessie Raker. Tragedy struck the family again the following year when her younger sister, Hattie Raker, also died in infancy.
Genealogical and historical reviews show that Hattie was laid to rest nearby. Fortunately, another sibling, Alexander Raker, lived a long life until 1993, carrying the family line forward. Even so, the early losses faded into obscurity until local leaders and cemetery management initiated a review of historical registries to correct the record.
Righting a Century-Old Wrong
Local leaders stepped in to give the Raker family the closure they deserved. City officials, including Councilmember Dionne Faulk and other local representatives, emphasized that communities are measured by how they treat their forgotten histories.
The newly installed marker for Maytie features delicate carvings of butterflies and a flower, bearing the inscription, "Forever in our hearts, Maytie Raker". Right beside it, her sister Hattie received a matching memorial reading, "Resting in heaven's garden".
Mayor James T. Butts noted during the dedication that modern stadiums and commercial venues will inevitably wear down and fade away, but institutions like the cemetery remain permanent fixtures of community memory. Fixing a forgotten grave from 1906 proves that heritage matters, no matter how much time has passed.
If you are researching local history or looking into genealogy records in Southern California, take time to check municipal archives. Many early burial grounds contain unmarked plots that local historical societies are working to identify. Reach out to regional preservation groups if you want to support similar marker initiatives for forgotten pioneers.
