[or-roots] Abandoned Roseburg Cemetery

[Connie Guardino]

For years, the small piece of land on Eastwood Street in Roseburg
patched with grass and dirt has resembled an abandoned, empty lot.

Anyone taking a stroll across the property through the scattered oak and
fir trees may never have known they were in fact treading on unmarked
graves.

But thanks to the concern of a few individuals, the forgotten cemetery
established around 1859 has a new memorial stone and will be rededicated
Friday.

Rosemary Spires, who has lived across the street from the cemetery with
her husband, Vincent, since 1952, took it upon herself years ago to
figure out why most of the tombstones had been removed from the
cemetery. She had found the crumbled headstone of a young child who died
in 1875 and wanted to see a better appreciation for history.

"It bothered me that it wasn't marked," she said while sitting in her
living room that overlooks the cemetery.

Years later, she took her plight to Douglas County officials with an
idea for a new monument to memorialize the grave sites.

But concerns from county officials that a new memorial would be
vandalized or not cared for halted her plans.

"We were hesitant because there has been vandalism in some of these old
cemeteries recently," said Ken Hendrick, director of the county land
department.

But Spires didn't give up.

"I was so frustrated because I got nowhere the usual route," she said.

Through research, she discovered the cemetery had belonged to the
Masonic Laurel Lodge No. 13 in Roseburg in the late 1800s, but had been
deeded to the county around 1900.

Last year, she brought the cemetery to the attention of local Masons,
who in turn took up the quest to see the cemetery cared for and honored.

"(Spires) essentially called and had some concerns about the use of the
park," said Edward Bouwsema, who was master of the lodge at the time.

He said the Masons, who had been unaware of the cemetery's existence,
also began meeting with county officials to discuss what should be done.

"We thought a rededication ceremony might be appropriate," he said.

Where Spires had little luck, the Masons succeeded. After attempting to
have a monument built on the property for years, Spires was surprised a
couple of weeks ago when she saw a concrete memorial piece being built
on the property.

"Apparently, they picked up on it," she said. "I had no idea, they'd
been working on it ever since."

Tim Randall, a junior deacon at the lodge who helped build the stone,
said he'd heard rumors that a developer planned to build on the lot and
knew he needed to get the cemetery marked.

"I thought no, this is one of the cemeteries of my forefathers," he
said.

Douglas County Commissioner Joyce Morgan -- under the stipulation that
the stone be the responsibility of the Masons and not the county -- said
she was happy to help with the building permit process through the
Roseburg Planning Commission.

"You just work with those people that are interested and try to bring it
together," she said.

 The $1,000 stone and bronze plaque the Masons placed on the property
with the help of local members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
will be the centerpiece for the Friday rededication ceremony.

Bouwsema plans to personally thank Spires, who was invited to the
ceremony, for bringing the issue to the forefront.

He said the ceremony is important for remembering and paying respect to
the pioneers who settled in the area so long ago.

"If you're buried as a Mason, we try to take care of you," he said.

While no one seems sure of what happened to the cemetery's headstones,
everyone agrees that negligence and vandalism were likely factors.

"It's my understanding the headstones disappeared from that cemetery a
long time ago," Hendrick said.

Spires said pieces of headstones were found under a concrete slab of her
neighbors' home years ago when additions were being put on the house
that was originally built in the 1940s.

The child's headstone she had found now rests in the Douglas County
Museum where Spires once worked on exhibits.

The mystery of the missing headstones means nobody is quite sure who is
buried on the lot.

The Masons began searching through lodge records dating back to the 19th
century that provided accounts of possible burials. Roseburg founder
Aaron Rose's brother Abram may have been buried there, according to his
obituary. Members of the historic Masonic lodge and Independent Order of
Odd Fellows who pioneered the area are also thought to rest there.

Bouwsema said the Masons will continue to search through records so
those buried there can be honored and remembered.

"It's a case of finding our brothers again," he said.

* You can reach reporter intern Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail
at newsreview.info.