River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)
River View Cemetery in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States, is a non-profit cemetery founded in 1882. It is the final resting place of many prominent and notable citizens of Oregon, including many governors and United States Senators.[1] Other notable burials include the Weinhard family, football player Lyle Alzado, and Carl Mays the baseball player who killed an opposing player with a pitch in a Major League game,[2][3] and famous western lawman Virgil Earp.
History
River View Cemetery was founded as a non-profit cemetery by William S. Ladd, James Terwilliger, Henry Failing, Henry Corbett, Henry Pittock, Simon Benson, and others in 1882.[4] All those who joined co-owned the cemetery.[4] In 1902 a Roll Call statue was added to honor the 165 Oregonians that died in the Spanish-American War.[4] The first adult burial was Dr. William Henry Watkins.[5] In the 1940s a 135 person chapel was added, designed by Pietro Belluschi.[6]
Facilities
Overlooking the Willamette River, the cemetery has a variety of mausoleums including the Hilltop Garden Mausoleum and Main Mausoleum.[6] There are also private mausoleums and crypts.[6] River View is an endowment care cemetery as defined by the state of Oregon.[7]
Property and Surplus Land
River View Cemetery occupies approximately 350 acres on the west slope of the Willamette River, south of Downtown Portland, but approximately half of the property is not a devleoped cemetery.[8] Initially, this excess land was held for future expansion of the cemetery, but demographic trends away from burial (in favor of cremation) have reduced the need for future expansion. For example, in 1973 8% of Oregonians chose cremation, versus 68% in 2010.[9]
In 2006, the River View Cemetery Association sought to develop 184 acres of their surplus land into residential properties, and filed a $24 million dollar compensation claim under Oregon Ballot Measures 37 (2004) and 49 (2007).[10] In 2007, the River View Cemetery Association submitted an application to change the zoning of the surplus land from open space to single-family residential for 182 housing units.[11] On May 2, 2011 the City of Portland announced that it had agreed to purchase 146 acres of this undeveloped surplus land for $11.25 million, which will be managed by Portland Parks & Recreation with the initial goals of habitat stabilization, removal of invasive species, and trail and access planning.[12]
Notable burials
- George Abernethy, (1807–1877) Governor of the Provisional Government of Oregon[3]
- George Forrest Alexander, (1882–1948) federal judge[1]
- Lyle Alzado, (1949–1992) professional football player[6]
- George H. Atkinson, (1819–1889) missionary and "Father of Oregon Schools"
- Lola Baldwin, (1860–1957)[13] first female police officer in the United States[6]
- Robert S. Bean, (1854–1931) federal judge, Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice[1]
- Simon Benson, (1852–1942) Portland businessman and philanthropist[6]
- Donald Cook, (1901–1961) movie and stage actor[3]
- Henry Winslow Corbett, (1827–1903) United States Senator[1]
- Maurice E. Crumpacker, (1886–1927) United States Congressman[1]
- Joseph N. Dolph, (1835–1897) United States Senator[1]
- Abigail Scott Duniway, (1834–1915) women’s rights pioneer[6]
- Virgil Earp, (1843–1905) lawman and brother of Wyatt Earp[6]
- Joseph Horace Eaton, (1815–1896) artist and Civil War general
- Henry Failing, (1834–1898) mayor of Portland[6]
- Robert S. Farrell, Jr., (c.1906–1947) Oregon Secretary of State[1]
- A. C. Gibbs, (1825–1886) Oregon Governor[3]
- Alan Punch Green, Jr., (1925–2001) United States Ambassador to Romania[1]
- La Fayette Grover, (1823–1911) Oregon Governor[1]
- John Hicklin Hall, (1854–1937) United States Attorney, Oregon legislator[1]
- Rufus C. Holman, (1877–1959) United States Senator[1]
- Nan Wood Honeyman, (1881–1970) United States Congresswoman[1]
- James Jackson, (1833–1916) Congressional Medal of Honor recipient[3]
- Jacob Kamm, (1823–1912), shipping magnate, founder of Oregon Steam Navigation Company[14]
- Albertina Kerr, orphanage founder[6]
- William S. Ladd, (1826–1893) mayor of Portland[6]
- Roswell Lamson, (1838–1903) Civil War navy hero
- Charles Henry Martin, (1863–1946) Oregon Governor[1]
- Wallace McCamant, (1867–1944) United States Court of Appeals judge[1]
- Dorothy McCullough Lee, (1902–1981)[15] first female mayor of Portland[6]
- John H. Mitchell, (1835–1905) United States Senator[1]
- Frederick W. Mulkey, (1874–1924) United States Senator[1]
- Paul L. Patterson, (1900–1956) Oregon Governor[1]
- Sylvester Pennoyer, (1831–1902) Oregon Governor[1]
- James Tilton Pickett, (1857–1889) newspaper writer, son of George Pickett[3]
- Henry Pittock, (1836–1919) publisher The Oregonian newspaper[6]
- Harvey W. Scott, (1838–1910) editor of The Oregonian newspaper[6]
- Joseph Showalter Smith, (1824–1884) United States Congressman[1]
- Isaac W. Smith, (1826–1897) Portland Pioneer, first Chief Engineer, "father" of Portland's water system [16]
- Lansing Stout, (1828–1871) United States Congressman[1]
- Owen Summers, (1850–1911) soldier, Oregon legislator[3]
- James Terwilliger, (d. 1892) Portland pioneer, street namesake[3]
- Frances Fuller Victor, (1826–1902) writer and historian[3]
- Henry Weinhard, (1830–1904)[17] brewer and Portland businessman[6]
- George Henry Williams, (1823–1910) United States Attorney General[1]
- Richard Williams, (1836–1914) United States Congressman[1]
- George L. Woods, (1832–1890) Oregon Governor[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Multnomah County, Oregon: River View Cemetery. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ James, Peet. Necropolitan: Portland's most interesting residents don't walk the streets. At least you'd better hope they don't. Willamette Week. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i River View Cemetery. Find A Grave. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c History. River View Cemetery. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ The Doctor in Oregon. Alibris. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Welcome to River View Cemetery. River View Cemetery. Retrieved on February 6, 2008.
- ^ List of Endowment Care Cemeteries. Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ Our Founders. River View Cemetery, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
- ^ Portlanders Shall Rest in Green Peace. Portland Tribune. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
- ^ Buried In Claims: Cemeteries Join the M37 Rush. Portland Mercury. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
- ^ City of Portland OWEB Grant Application. Google Cache of Oregon Water Resources Department Web Page. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
- ^ This wildlife corridor will be the envy of every city in America. KATU Southwest Portland News. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
- ^ Horne, Peter. Policewomen: Their First Century and the New Era. The Police Chief, vol. 73, no. 9, September 2006. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
- ^ "Kamm burial is today". The Oregonian: pp. 7. 1912-12-16.
- ^ Dorothy McCullough Lee. Portland Online. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
- ^ Portland Online: First Chief Engineer of Portland's Water System
- ^ The Oregon History Project: Henry Weinhard. Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved on June 27, 2007.
External links
