The current grounds of the cemetery were once a stage coach stop called Lyons Station. The station was established on the grounds in 1854 as a combination store, post office, telegraph office and stage depot accommodating travelers during the Kern River gold rush. By the end of the Civil War, interments had been made in the area which is now known as Eternal Valley Memorial Park.

In 1888, the cemetery property and surrounding area was acquired by Henry Clay Needham and came to be known as the Needham Family Cemetery. Eternal Valley Memorial Park was created in 1958 when funeral director Mark Gates Sr. acquired the property from the heirs of Henry Clay Needham.