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The Lone Fir Cemetery is the most intriguing resting place in Portland, home to more than 25,000 who are buried across 30 acres of a parklike setting.
October is Creepy Maps Month, the 11th month in our yearlong Year Of Months series and we start here, at what National Geographic has recognized as one of the nation's top 10 cemeteries.
Lone Fir is also a time capsule of Portland history—though one it'd be weird to dig up. Here are some of the most famous, infamous and interesting people buried in the cemetery.
1. The Lone Fir
NW Corner
The Douglas Fir, responsible for the cemeteries' namesake, still stands, with a large plaque serving as an easy marker for those in search of it.
2. Macleay Mausoleum
Block 17
This is both the oldest and largest mausoleum in the cemetery. Nine lay here, including Martha MacCulloch, whom the mausoleum was built for. She died the day after giving birth to her fourth child. The mausoleum is made of red sandstone to resemble the Macleay's Scotland home. The Macleay name still lives as part of Macleay Park next to Forest Park and Macleay Boulevard in the Northwest hills.
3. Emmor Stephens
Block 1, Lot 18, 3S
Emmor Stephens was the first person to be buried in Lone Fir when it was still just a farm. When Emmor's son James sold the land, he made the buyer promise they would maintain his father's grave.
4. Thomas J. Dryer
Block 3, Lot 19, 1S
The first editor of The Oregonian, Dryer was active in Oregon politics, a prominent member of the Whig Party and commissioner of the Sandwich Islands—now known by their native name, Hawaii.
5. James C. Hawthorne
Block 8M, Lot 44, 1N
Hawthorne founded the Oregon Hospital for the Insane and helped bury over 100 patients at Lone Fir. The asylum stood on what is now Hawthorne Boulevard and 12th Avenue.
6. Asa Lovejoy
Block 8M, Lot 50, 2N
His tombstone reads "Founder of Portland." Lovejoy is most famous for losing a coin flip to Francis Pettygrove to name the city—he wanted to call it "Boston."
7. Samuel Leonidas Simpson
Block 13, Lot 21, 2N
The first Poet Laureate of Oregon, Simpson is most famous for his debut poem, "Beautiful Willamette": "Time, that scars us / Maims and mars us / Leaves no track or trace on thee." Simpson, a heavy drinker, died from hitting his head while falling, drunk, according to the Oregon Historical Society.
8. Soldiers Monument
Middle of the cemetery
The monument pays tribute to soldiers of the Civil, Spanish-American, Mexican and Indian Wars. There are over 300 soldiers buried at Lone Fir.
9. Michael Mitchell
Wes Block, Lot 64, 1N
A well-known jig dancer, Mitchell got drunk one night and froze to death. His headstone reads: "Here lies one who has taken steps that won the applause of men; but grim death came and took a step which he could not withstand."
10. Anne Jeanne Tingry-Le Coz
Block 20, Lot 18, 2S
Anne Jeanne Tingry-LeCoz was better known as Emma Merlotin, her name while working as a famous "French courtesan" (prostitute). She was murdered right before Christmas. Her eyes were removed for a forensic investigation to see if they contained an image of her killer.
GO: Lone Fir Cemetery is at Southeast 26th Avenue and Stark Street. The "Art and Epitaph Tour" will be Saturday, October 7. 10 am. $10. Tours meet at the Soldier's Monument at the center of the cemetery.