Pioneer Cemeteries in Oregon and Washington

Churches of Christ & Christian Churches
in the Pacific Northwest

PIONEER CEMETERIES
IN THE NORTHWEST
Acres of Information

Gate at Burch Pioneer Cemetery
March 2002
by Charles Dailey
Northwest College of the Bible

A few pioneer cemeteries relate closely to the history of local churches. We have included the listings that are available, some at our site and some links to the sites of others who have "read" the cemetery and listed their work.
Our lists here are simple text files to match the requirements of the Oregon Tombstone Transcription Project.

Alderman Family Cemetery at Spring Valley, Oregon.
Orlando Alderman, prominent preacher in Yamhill and Polk Counties, is buried here along with many members of his family.

Bethel Cemetery at Bethel, Oregon.
Amos Harvey, who established the first Restoration Church west of the Rockies, is buried here along with his wife and some of his daughters. Jane Harvey established the cemetery.

Burch Pioneer Cemetery at Rickreall, Oregon.
Harrison and Emily Brunk are buried here near their home, as are Nathaniel Ford and his family and the Burch family, many of whom where involved in the earliest days of the Rickreall Christian Church.

Cherryville Cemetery at Cherryville in Clackamas Co., Oregon.
This listing is only partial. The cemetery is at the back of the property where the Christian Church once stood. It adjoins the Barlow Road.

Jackson Cemetery near Castle Rock, Washington.
The Henry Jackson family and William Huntington are buried there. These men established one of the first Churches of Christ in Washington Territory.

Porter-Sharon Cemetery near Porter, Washington.
Hiram and Zimry Witsman and their families, David Reeves and most of the early members of the Porter Church of Christ and buried here.

Cemetery listing at other sites:
Bethany Cemetery near Silverton.
Peter Cox and family and Thomas Shaw and family are among the pioneers buried here.

Central Cemetery near Albany.
Alfred and Hannah Powell are buried here along with many other members of the greater Powell clan. We have met with the aged caretaker of the cemetery and learned many of the 300 records are permanently lost. Careful records were not kept from the earliest days. All paper records that were kept burned about 1960 in a house fire. Later, a crew clearing brush burned the area, destroying the wooden grave markers. Many of the stone markers are now beyond recognition. As a result, there will never be a complete record of who was buried at the Central Cemetery.
In May of 1999, Jan Phillips gathered as much information from the markers as possible and we have linked to her list.

Crawfordsville Union Cemetery.
Burial place of Don Jessup, Philemon and Lelitia Crawford and Agnes Wells.
Fall Creek Christian Church Cemetery.
Kees Cemetery near Weston, Oregon.
Includes a photos of the tombstones of Jonathan and Nancy Gerking, pioneers of 1862, who established the church in Weston, Oregon.
Lobster Valley Cemetery in Lobster Valley, Oregon.
William S. Wilson and Charles Hendrix, the founders of the Lobster Valley Church of Christ, are buried there.

Mulkey Cemetery in Eugene, Oregon.
Pioneer preacher Philip Mulkey is buried here.

Old Mulkey Meeting House Cemetery in Kentucky.
This one is not in the northwest, but it is important to the Pioneer Story.
Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Eugene.
Elijah and Susanna Bristow and their children are buried here, as are Gilmore and other Callisons and many others who set the pace for evangelism in this Lane County community.

Providence Cemetery near Scio.
Buried here are John G. and Orpha Richardson, responsible for beginning the church at Scio (Page 21, entry #562).

Salt Creek Cemetery near Dallas, Oregon.
Find here members of the Buhler family. The monument to Zadok Riggs, wagon train captain who died on the way to Oregon, is noted.
Weisner Cemetery at Mt. Pleasant near Stayton.
The Washington Crabtree family is buried here.

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