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Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery

Places and activities  ›  Pioneer cemeteries  ›  Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery

Founded in 1855, Lone Fir is located at Southeast 26th Avenue and Stark Street in Portland.

In 1854, J.B. Stephens sold his farm, located a few miles east of the small town of Portland, to Colburn Barrell. On the property was the grave of Stephens' father, Emmor, who died in 1846. Barrell agreed to maintain the grave site.

Colburn Barrell was a partner in a passenger steamship line between Portland and Oregon City. On April 8, 1854, the boiler of their steamship Gazelle exploded while moored near Oregon City. The accident killed several people, including Barrell's business partner, Crawford Dobbins, and a passenger. Barrell buried the victims near Stephens and set aside 10 acres as a cemetery. He named the cemetery Mount Crawford in honor of his friend, Crawford Dobbins.

By 1866, 20 more acres were added to the original cemetery. Burial plots sold for $10. Colburn thought the cemetery should be owned by the city of Portland and offered it to the city for $4,000. The City Council turned down the offer, citing the location was too far from town. There were no bridges crossing the Willamette River, and the mule-powered Stark Street ferry was slow. Coupled with muddy roads, a funeral procession would be a weary trip at best. The cemetery was eventually sold to Portland investors in 1866 and the name changed to Lone Fir Cemetery for the solitary tree standing on the site.

Today, Lone Fir Cemetery is a wooded, landscaped arboretum in the heart of Portland. More than 25,000 people are buried here, from the familiar (Curry, Dekum, Hawthorne, Lane, Lovejoy, Macleay) to the unknown. Decay, neglect and poor record keeping in the early years have led to an estimated 10,000 unknown graves. A visit to Lone Fir Cemetery will reveal the region's rich history.

"All nations are represented, all grades of society, all states of wealth and standing. Rich lie here and poor, employer and employee, those with virtue and those without. Death has a way of banishing snobbishness, of cultivating comradeship."

—D.A. Lund, Lone Fir: Silent City of the Dead

About Metro's pioneer cemeteries

Metro's pioneer cemeteries not only offer a unique look into the past, but are managed as active facilities. Public inquiries concerning gravesite selection and other services are welcome. Metro maintains burial records for use by family historians and genealogical researchers. To locate a gravesite, you can search the records online or contact pioneer cemetery staff.

Getting there

download cemetery maps

• Lone Fir main map 419K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published August 22, 2011
• Block 1 map 183K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 2 map 174K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 3 map 174K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 4 map 173K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 5 map 172K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 5M map 164K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 6 map 182K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 6M map 164K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 7 map 188K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 7M map 181K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 8 map 180K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 8M map 183K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 9 map 175K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 9M map 185K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 10 map 189K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 10M map 182K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 11 map 183K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 11M map 159K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 12 map 170K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 13 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 14 map 163K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 16 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 17 map 165K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 18 map 165K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 19 map 179K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 20 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 21 map 178K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 22 map 178K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 23 map 172K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 24 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 25 map 198K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 26 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 27 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 28 map 180K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 29 map 180K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 30 map 173K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 31 map 172K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 32 map 178K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 33 map 175K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 34 map 186K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 35 map 190K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 36 map 178K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 37 map 175K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 38 map 178K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block 39 map 176K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block A map 165K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block B map 160K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block C map 167K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block D map 159K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• Block E map 161K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009
• West block map 195K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published May 20, 2009

Related Links

Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery memorial park site design

Learn more about Metro's plans for a memorial and natural area at Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery.