River View Cemetery
The Spanish–American War Veterans Memorial, 2007
Map
Details
Established1882; 142 years ago (1882)
Location
Portland, Oregon
CountryUnited States
Coordinates45°27′54″N 122°40′23″W / 45.465°N 122.673°W / 45.465; -122.673
TypePrivate
Owned byRiver View Cemetery Association
Websiteriverviewcemetery.org
Find a GraveRiver View Cemetery

River View Cemetery is a non-profit cemetery located in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1882, it is the final resting place of many prominent and notable citizens of Oregon, including many governors and members of the United States Senate.[1] Other notable burials include Henry Weinhard's family, W.A.S.P Pilot Hazel Ying Lee, football player Lyle Alzado, baseball player Carl Mays,[2][3] and famous western lawman Virgil Earp.

History

River View Cemetery Association lithographic stone used to print an early $500 bond or stock certificate.

River View Cemetery Association was founded as a non-profit cemetery by William S. Ladd, James Terwilliger, Henry Failing, Henry W. Corbett, Henry Pittock, Simon Benson, and others in 1882.[4][5] All those who joined co-owned the cemetery.[4] In 1902 a Roll Call statue was added to honor the 165 Oregonians who died in the Spanish–American War.[4] The statue stood for 121 years before being stolen in 2023.[6] The first adult burial was Dr. William Henry Watkins.[7] In the 1940s a 135-person chapel was added, designed by Pietro Belluschi.[8]

Facilities

Overlooking the Willamette River, the cemetery has a variety of mausoleums including the Hilltop Garden Mausoleum and Main Mausoleum.[8] There are also private mausoleums and crypts.[8] River View is an endowment care cemetery as defined by the state of Oregon.[9]

Property and surplus land

River View Cemetery occupies approximately 350 acres (140 ha) on the west slope of the Willamette River, south of Downtown Portland, but approximately half of the property is not a developed cemetery.[10] 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 eight percent of Oregonians chose cremation, versus 68 percent in 2010.[11]

In 2006, the River View Cemetery Association sought to develop 184 acres (74 ha) of their surplus land into residential properties, and filed a $24 million compensation claim under the 2004 Oregon Ballot Measure 37 and 2007 Oregon Ballot Measure 49.[12] 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.[13] On May 2, 2011, the City of Portland announced that it had agreed to purchase 146 acres (59 ha) 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.[14]

Notable burials

Grave of Harvey W. Scott
Grave of Henry Weinhard
Burial marker at the cemetery

References

  1. ^ 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. Archived 2016-10-14 at the Wayback Machine The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
  2. ^ James, Peet. Necropolitan: Portland's most interesting residents don't walk the streets. At least you'd better hope they don't. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Willamette Week. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
  3. ^ "Society for American Baseball Research". Archived from the original on 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  4. ^ a b c History. Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine River View Cemetery. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
  5. ^ "River View Cemetery - Burial Plots, Mausoleums, Niches, Markers, Monuments, Portland, Oregon". 2007-09-28. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2022-09-22. (...) River View Cemetery Association (...)
  6. ^ "Spanish American War statue stolen from River View Cemetery". KATU. Portland, Oregon. November 24, 2023. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  7. ^ The Doctor in Oregon.[dead link] Archived 2017-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Alibris. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Home page, River View Cemetery. Archived 2007-06-25 at the Wayback Machine River View Cemetery. Retrieved on January 24, 2015.
  9. ^ List of Endowment Care Cemeteries. Archived 2006-05-23 at the Wayback Machine Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
  10. ^ Our Founders. Archived 2011-04-18 at the Wayback Machine River View Cemetery, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
  11. ^ Law, Steve (July 8, 2010). "Portlanders shall rest in green peace: River View Cemetery opens its grounds to the natural option". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on April 19, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  12. ^ Buried In Claims: Cemeteries Join the M37 Rush. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Portland Mercury. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
  13. ^ City of Portland OWEB Grant Application.[dead link] Archived 2012-11-08 at the Wayback Machine Google Cache of Oregon Water Resources Department Web Page. Retrieved on May 4, 2011.
  14. ^ This wildlife corridor will be the envy of every city in America. Archived 2011-05-05 at the Wayback Machine KATU Southwest Portland News. Retrieved on May 4, 2011. S.a. wildlife corridor
  15. ^ "Oregon Pioneers" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  16. ^ Horne, Peter. Policewomen: Their First Century and the New Era. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine The Police Chief, vol. 73, no. 9, September 2006. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
  17. ^ "Ben Boloff surcombs". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. October 15, 1932. p. 4.
  18. ^ "NNDB". Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  19. ^ John Eicher, David Eicher (2002). Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780804780353. Archived from the original on 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  20. ^ Fletcher, Randol B. (22 September 2011). Hidden History of Civil War Oregon. Arcadia. ISBN 9781625841780. Archived from the original on 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  21. ^ "Kamm burial is today". The Oregonian. December 16, 1912. p. 7.
  22. ^ Dorothy McCullough Lee. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Portland Online. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
  23. ^ "The Story of The American Legion / Wheat, George Seay". 2014-08-22. Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  24. ^ "Pickett Society". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  25. ^ "Portland Online: First Chief Engineer of Portland's Water System". Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  26. ^ "River View Cemetery". Archived from the original on 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  27. ^ "TWO GRAVES GET HEADSTONES 100 YEARS LATER". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. 8 April 2013. p. C4. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  29. ^ The Oregon History Project: Henry Weinhard. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved on June 27, 2007.
  30. ^ Willard, Frances Elizabeth, 1839–1898; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice, 1820–1905 (1893). A woman of the century; fourteen hundred-seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American women in all walks of life. Buffalo, N.Y., Moulton. p. 437. Retrieved 8 August 2017.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  31. ^ Lane, Dee. Bud Clark, Portland’s former ‘citizen mayor,’ dies at 90 Archived 2023-01-02 at the Wayback Machine Oregon Live. Retrieved on January 19, 2023.

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