The Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery is a

pioneer cemetery In the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere, a pioneer cemetery is a cemetery that is the burial place for pioneers. American pioneers founded such cemeteries during territorial expansion of the United States, with founding dates span ...

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located at the west end of the city along the

Tualatin Valley Highway The Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29 (see Oregon highways and routes) is an Oregon highway which passes through the Tualatin Valley, between the cities of McMinnville and Beaverton. Between McMinnville and Forest Grove, the highway is signed as ...

and adjacent to

Dairy Creek A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cattle, cows or Water buffalo, buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is ...

. The cemetery comprises three formerly private cemeteries. In 1973, the city of Hillsboro gained title to what is the oldest cemetery in Washington County.Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery Inscriptions.
Cemeteries. Retrieved on February 29, 2008.

History

The cemetery is situated on what was previously part of the David Hill

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

that was recorded on July 4, 1847. Hill died in 1850, and in 1860 the

Masonic Order Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...

(IOOF) established a cemetery on the current site. The IOOF portion of the cemetery was to the east of the Masons' part.Historic names mark old gravestones. ''

Hillsboro Argus ''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First ...

'', October 19, 1976. Around 1915 another section owned by IOOF was added west of the Masons' section. On August 7, 1973, the city of Hillsboro received the deeds to the cemeteries and took over maintenance and operations. In 1995, 155 grave sites were vandalized, causing over $75,000 in damage. The city made improvements in 2012 with the addition of an arched, wrought-iron entry and information kiosk. Paid for in part by a state grant, the project cost $13,000 to complete. In 2014, the city completed a master plan to make $1.7 million in improvements, including sidewalks, parking, and fencing.

Details

Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery is an irreducible fund cemetery organized under

Oregon Revised Statutes The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) is the codified body of statutory law governing the U.S. state of Oregon, as enacted by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and occasionally by citizen initiative. The statutes are subordinate to the Oregon Constitu ...

65.860 where all funds received go into a fund that is not reduced and only interest is used for maintenance. Hillsboro's city recorder manages all records of the facility. The Hillsboro Historical Society holds a semi-annual event at the cemetery that includes re-enactments by actors demonstrating the lives of some of those buried at the cemetery.

Notable burials

* William N. Barrett (1855-1916),

state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...

and Hillsboro mayor. * Rodolph Crandall (1832-1922), Hillsboro mayor and county judge *

John Smith Griffin John Smith Griffin (1807–1899) was an American missionary in Oregon Country who participated at the Champoeg Meetings that created the Provisional Government of Oregon in 1843. In Oregon he served as a tutor at Fort Vancouver and later organiz ...

(1807-1899), missionary and

Champoeg Meetings The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by European-American and French Canadian pioneers in the Oregon Country on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was held ...

participant. *

William D. Hare William Davenport Hare (September 1, 1834 – February 6, 1910) was an American politician in Oregon. He served as a Republican member of the Oregon Legislature and the 8th mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon. His other duties included those of custo ...

(1834-1910), state legislator and Hillsboro mayor. * David Hill (1809-1850), legislator in the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

. *

Fern Hobbs Fern Hobbs (May 8, 1883 – April 10, 1964) was an American attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon, and Private Secretary to Oregon Governor Oswald West. She was noted for her ambition and several accomplishments as a young woman, and became the hi ...

(1883-1964), secretary to Oregon Governor

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the mo ...

and involved in incident in Copperfield. * John W. Shute (1840-1922), banker and namesake for

Shute Park Shute Park is a municipal park in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Acquired in 1906, the park is the oldest park in the city. Located at southeast Tenth and Maple streets along Tualatin Valley Highway, Shute Park includes an aquatic ...

Thomas Tongue Thomas H. Tongue III (February 12, 1912 – May 31, 1994) was an American jurist in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served as the 75th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving 13 years on the state's highest court. Tongue w ...

(1912-1994),

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Thomas H. Tongue Thomas H. Tongue (June 23, 1844January 11, 1903) was an American politician and attorney in the state of Oregon. Born in England, his family immigrated to Washington County, Oregon, in 1859. In Oregon, he would serve in the Oregon State Senate, S ...

(1844-1903),

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

, state legislator, and Hillsboro mayor. *

Albert E. Tozier Albert E. Tozier (March 7, 1860 – June 27, 1937) was an American newspaper editor and local historian in Oregon. A native of Nebraska, he moved to Oregon as a child with his parents, settling in Hillsboro. His father, Charles T. Tozier, served ...

(1860-1937), journalist and historian.Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery Inscriptions, S - T.
Cemeteries. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. * Charles T. Tozier (1832-1899), mayor and state legislator * William H. Wehrung (1861-1934), state legislator and city councilor * Mary Ramsey Wood (1787-1908), "First Mother Queen of Oregon Pioneers"

References

External links

List of burials from the CityFind A Grave: Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery
{{Hillsboro Oregon Cemeteries in Oregon Hillsboro, Oregon Protected areas of Washington County, Oregon 1860 establishments in Oregon Tourist attractions in Hillsboro, Oregon