[HistoricCemeteries] The Dalles Memorial Day event

[Kuri Gill]

The Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society will be dedicating a memorial stone to honor all those who are buried at the Pioneer Cemetery in The Dalles, Oregon on Memorial Day, May 31, 2010.  For several years the Society has collected donations in order to erect a common monument inscribed with the names of all the people interred in this cemetery. That goal has now been met.                               

10:15 AM  Veterans Ceremony by The Dalles Veterans of Foreign Wars.
11:00 AM  Dedication of Memorial Stone.

After the ceremony a gathering will be hosted at the Original Courthouse 410 West 2nd Place, The Dalles.  Refreshments will be served and there will also be an opportunity to order the Pioneer Cemetery Book compiled by Columbia Gorge Genealogy Society Member, Earlene Wasser.  This is a culmination of several years of research and lists names and facts about the 243 known burials listed on the monument.  

The original name was City Graveyard or Pioneer City Graveyard. It was sometimes referred to as the Bigelow graveyard. W.D. Bigelow donated the ground for the cemetery on June 14, 1860 with the first burial shortly thereafter. This graveyard was used instead of the Indian Mission cemetery (16th Street between Garrison and Pentland streets) after 1860. It contains 2.12 acres of native trees and plants.

The Pioneer Cemetery which is administered by the City of The Dalles, Historic Landmarks Commission, is located on East Scenic Drive in The Dalles.  In conjunction with the Landmarks Commission the Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society has been helping to restore the grave sites and "not let history vanish". Work parties over the last few years have uncovered over a dozen old markers from the vegetation and soil that had covered them over time.  In addition to the annual effort to contain the vegetative growth, the Landmarks Commission has installed a new fence and gate along the Scenic Drive side of the cemetery. 

If you need further information about the ceremony or directions to the cemetery feel free to contact Renee Briggs at 509-767-2316 or Sandy Bisset at 541-298-1240.  There are maps available at your request.


Kuri Gill
Historic Cemeteries Program  & CLG Coordinator
725 Summer St. NE, Suite C
Salem, OR 97301-1266
(503) 986-0685
(503) 986-0793 (fax)
kuri.gill at state.or.us
 
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