Members of the public wishing to find a final resting place for themselves or a loved one will soon have another option at one of Portland’s most beloved pioneer cemeteries.
Lone Fir Cemetery is once again available for casket burials five years after they were last available. The new Chestnut Grove Memorial Garden, tucked inside Lone Fir, also has a variety of options available for cremated remains.
More than 1,500 casket burial spaces are available at Lone Fir starting Sept. 9. About 25,000 people are buried there currently.
Nestled in the heart of Southeast Portland, Lone Fir is Portland’s oldest cemetery and is the eternal home of some of the city’s most notable residents and pioneers. The cemetery also serves as an active green space for neighborhood residents and a de-facto arboretum with more than 500 trees and 67 species. Lone Fir is also home to bald eagles, hawks and other animals.
The availability of casket burial spaces will allow residents to connect with the cemetery’s storied history, said Emma Williams, a program coordinator at Metro, which oversees 14 historic cemeteries.
“People have a connection to their pioneer heritage at Lone Fir,” Williams said. “Now they’re able to be laid to rest with these same pioneer families.”
The spaces became available after Metro completed a formal reclamation process required under Oregon law. Metro has been unable to establish contact with the owners of the newly available spaces or their descendants in at least 75 years.
Part of Lone Fir’s continuing appeal rests in the diverse communities the cemetery has served, said Frank Schaefer, a board member of Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, a nonprofit that helps care for the cemetery. Lone Fir has not been affiliated with any religion, so everybody feels welcome, he said.
“You have Chinese immigrants, Russian immigrants, pioneers who came across on covered wagons,” Schaefer said. “You have every nationality represented in that cemetery, which is kind of a mirror image of what Portland is today as a city. A lot of people really love that cemetery because of the historical significance of it, and people want to be a part of that when they pass away.”
For more information, visit oregonmetro.gov/cemeteries or contact Metro cemetery services at 503-797-1709 or [email protected].