Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery
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Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery

Also known as Lone Fir Cemetery

Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, USA

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Founded in 1855.

The area that would become Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery saw its first burial in 1846, when landowner J.B. Stephens interred his father, Emmor, on the family farm. In 1854, Stephens sold his land to Colburn Barrell, a local businessman, who lost his business partner and his best friend later that year in the explosion of the steamship Gazelle. The two men were buried near the Stephens family plot, and Barrell set aside the ten acres around their graves for a cemetery. Initially, it was known as Mt. Crawford, after Barrell's friend. The name "Lone Fir" came into use later, when a group of local families bought the land; at the time, the large fir was the only tree on the property.

For more than 40 years, all of Portland's burials took place at Lone Fir. It is the final resting place of local pioneers from all walks of life, from politicians to prostitutes, asylum patients to Chinese immigrants. After a period of disrepair in the early part of the 20th century, Lone Fir is now a beloved local green space, with many memorial trees and a pioneer rose garden whose blooms descend from the plants emigrants brought on the Oregon Trail.

Further burials occurred throughout the 20th century, and though all plots are now sold, a few continue today. In 2011, thanks partly to the maintenance and education work of Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, it was listed as one of National Geographic's top 10 cemeteries to visit.





Founded in 1855.

The area that would become Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery saw its first burial in 1846, when landowner J.B. Stephens interred his father, Emmor, on the family farm. In 1854, Stephens sold his land to Colburn Barrell, a local businessman, who lost his business partner and his best friend later that year in the explosion of the steamship Gazelle. The two men were buried near the Stephens family plot, and Barrell set aside the ten acres around their graves for a cemetery. Initially, it was known as Mt. Crawford, after Barrell's friend. The name "Lone Fir" came into use later, when a group of local families bought the land; at the time, the large fir was the only tree on the property.

For more than 40 years, all of Portland's burials took place at Lone Fir. It is the final resting place of local pioneers from all walks of life, from politicians to prostitutes, asylum patients to Chinese immigrants. After a period of disrepair in the early part of the 20th century, Lone Fir is now a beloved local green space, with many memorial trees and a pioneer rose garden whose blooms descend from the plants emigrants brought on the Oregon Trail.

Further burials occurred throughout the 20th century, and though all plots are now sold, a few continue today. In 2011, thanks partly to the maintenance and education work of Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, it was listed as one of National Geographic's top 10 cemeteries to visit.





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