Olympia Cemetery was established circa 1904 to serve the families of mill workers from Capital City, Richland, Granby, and Olympia Mills. The land was set aside by W.B. Smith Whaley and Co., and when a death occurred the company provided a burial plot. In 1944, Pacific Mills, which had purchased the Whaley Mills in 1915, deeded ownership to the Olympia Cemetery Association. The association drew its members from the eight Olympia community churches. The oldest portion of the cemetery is the southwest section, with more recent burials proceeding to the northeast. Oral tradition holds that when a child in the community died, mill workers built a wooden coffin, lined it with material from the company store, and carried it to the gravesite. In addition to the many gravesites marked by headstones, there are believed to be many unmarked burials in Olympia Cemetery.