Honoring untold stories at Lone Fir Cemetery | Metro

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Metro is creating a cultural heritage and healing garden on ground that was once the Chinese section of the historic cemetery.

People walk through a circular enclosure with a round altar in the middle. The enclosure is not solid, but a screen made of linked metal rectangles. Trees surround it, as do larger walls with informational signs.

This artist rendering shows the proposed design for the interior of the memorial, which would include an altar for offerings and storytelling along the walls of a semi-enclosed pavilion. Source: Knot Studio/Allied Works

This three-minute video explains the significance of Lone Fir Cemetery's "Block 14," including its history as the Chinese section of the cemetery, its erasure, and efforts to create a memorial at the site. Narrated by artist and activist Wendi YuLing, it is based on presentations originally given by Metro staff at information sessions with community members.

A view of the grassy field in Lone Fir Cemetery known as Block 14. Large, mature deciduous trees are in the distance and cast long shadows on the grass under a clear blue sky.

A stone marker with the words "Block 14" engraved in black letters stands on a grassy field with wildflowers in the foreground and an oxidized chain hanging from above

Black-and-white historic photo from 1961 showing the Morrison Building that was constructed on Block 14 in the 1950s and eventually removed.

Black-and-white historic photo of a memorial marker in the area of Lone Fir Cemetery known as Block 14.

The southwest corner of Lone Fir Cemetery, labeled “Block 14” on cemetery maps, was used as the Chinese section of the cemetery during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Now, with input from community members, Metro is working to design and build a memorial at this site.

More than 2,800 Chinese and Chinese American people were buried in Lone Fir Cemetery between the 1860s and the 1920s, the majority of them in Block 14. While many were exhumed and returned to China in accordance with their cultural practices, some of their bodies remain in the cemetery in unmarked graves.

In the 1950s, Block 14 was paved over to build an office space for Multnomah County. That building has been torn down and the land has been reincorporated into the cemetery. Currently, the space that once held the Chinese section of the cemetery is a bare field.

Metro is now in the process of developing a memorial that honors the unrecognized stories of the people who were buried at the site. The memorial is being shaped by input from the community and funded through the voter-approved 2019 parks and nature bond.

The memorial is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

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