Pioneer Cemetery

Pioneer Cemetery

1966, The graves of Asahel Bush family are located in Pioneer Cemetery on a hill overlooking the city. Taken in the fall of 1966, photo shows the State Capitol rising above the trees in the background., Salem Public Library SJ599

Salem Pioneer Cemetery is located at the corner of Hoyt and Commercial Streets in South Salem. The land on which the cemetery is located was originally part of the Reverend David Leslie land claim and was set aside by him for family burials in 1841. Reverend Leslie was one of the Methodist Missionaries sent to the Willamette Valley along with Reverend Jason Lee.

In 1854, the cemetery was enlarged by the Odd Fellows fraternal organization and came to be known as the Odd Fellows Community Cemetery. Chemeketa Lodge #1, the first Odd Fellows Lodge in the state of Oregon, tended it for nearly 100 years. The Lodge relinquished their care taking to the city of Salem in the 1950s.

The cemetery had been nearly abandoned by 1985 when local residents formed the entirely non-profit “Friends of the Pioneer Cemetery.” The “Friends” have raised funds through grants and donations to keep the cemetery maintained, and currently employ two full time yards keepers.

The web site offers index listings of those buried at the cemetery including name, date of burial, birth, death and plot location.

Pioneer Cemetery web site: http://www.open.org/~pioneerc/

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Bibliography:

Pioneer Cemetery web site, October, 2000. Source: Friends of Pioneer Cemetery.

Photo: Record No: 8789

Photographer: Ben Maxwell

Photo Source: Salem Public Library

This article originally appeared on the original Salem Online History site and has not been updated since 2006.