| 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/
Bibliography:
Pioneer Cemetery web site, October, 2000. Source: Friends
of Pioneer Cemetery.
Photo: Record No: 8789
Photographer: Ben Maxwell
Copyright & Ownership: Copyright Salem Public Library
Photo Source: Salem Public Library
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