Luper Cemetery is near

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, and is one of the earliest pioneer cemeteries in the southern

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

. The site is also known as Irving Cemetery or Baker Cemetery. The first grave site was in 1857, although records indicate that the cemetery began in 1859, when land was donated by Thomas and Elizabeth Baker. The cemetery is named for James Luper, an 1852 pioneer from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, who settled nearby in an area known for a time as

Luper, Oregon Luper, Oregon is a ghost town in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Originally a train station on the Oregon and California Railroad between Junction City and Eugene, Luper was located near Meadowview Road between Oregon Route 99W and Prairie ...

. James Luper owned the land surrounding the cemetery. In 2011, almost all gravestones were broken or toppled.

References

{{Reflist Junction City, Oregon Cemeteries in Oregon 1859 establishments in Oregon