Pioneer Cemetery
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 43° 59.929 W 117° 14.402
11T E 480755 N 4871769
History Sign about Pioneer Cemetery at Vale, Oregon.
Waymark Code: WM2GFW
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 10/30/2007
Views: 26
This sign is located at the Pioneer Cemetery in Vale, Oregon.
Marker Name: Pioneer Cemetery
Marker Text: Est. 1870 Vale, Oregon
As the wagons traveled the Oregon Trail in the mid 1800’s many perished along the way. Some of these people buried near Vale were later moved to this Cemetery. This 5 acre parcel of land was also known as the Vale Lodge No. 100 I.O.O.F. Cemetery. Records from the Malheur County Courthouse dating back to the years 1907-1939 indicate that many people were buried here, although only 153 graves are marked with stones. Names found in the records show that there are over 200 unmarked gravesites and many unaccounted for before those dates.
On February 5, 1925 the old Bully Creek Dam broke flooding the town of Vale, destroying many records. Again disaster struck in February of 1957. The weather turned very cold, the ground was frozen and a heavy snow fell blanketing the area. A Chinook wind began to blow causing the snow to melt in the surrounding hills. The creeks and Malheur River began to rise, the irrigation canals filled and overflowed, flooding farmlands and the town once again. The canal above the cemetery broke washing away hundreds of grave markers, some being carved from wood. Mounds are still visible where graves existed. The oldest marked grave dates back to 1887, earlier sites were washed away. Sadly, some of these peolpe are lost foreever, but never forgotten.
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