History abounds within the fenced acreage of several cemeteries found throughout Coos County. If you're a history buff and enjoy learning about local history then here are eight Coos County cemeteries you must visit.
Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery
Cemeteries are places of history. Besides functioning as a place for the families to come and be with their loved ones, patterns amongst the stones can be discovered. Maybe it’s the same name over and over, or a large number of markers dated in the same season representing a bitter hard winter or a devastating disease. Sometimes cemeteries will have religious sections, or a nationality section, reflecting waves of new immigrants. Sometimes you’ll find the town's prominent people and families with impressive headstones buried next to less fortunate who can only afford a wooden grave marker. Other times you’ll find a mass grave of some disaster or accident. It's history in the making.
According to the online database, Find-A-Grave, Coos County has 99 documented cemeteries, but not all are open to the public. Most of them are on private property or private family cemeteries, while others don't visually exist with headstones anymore, but the graves are still there.
According to the online database, Find-A-Grave, Coos County has 99 documented cemeteries, but not all are open to the public. Most of them are on private property or private family cemeteries, while others don't visually exist with headstones anymore, but the graves are still there.
Gravelford Pioneer Cemetery
There are many different reasons to visit Coos County cemeteries, but here are eight cemeteries that stand out with unique features, historical significance and artistic beauty any history buff, artist and photographer, and outdoor enthusiast will enjoy.
#1 ~Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery~
Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery
Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery
The Lakeside Pioneer cemetery is one that has the most extraordinary character of any cemetery in Coos County. It is not uncommon to find the living not only bringing memorial flowers to their loved one, but also a plethora of gifts and trinkets ranging from hot wheel cars, rosary beads and stuffed animals, to an alarm clock, magazines, cigarettes and a camping lantern. During specific holidays like Christmas, Halloween and Easter, several graves are decorated accordingly.
Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery
A great number of military service men and women are buried in the Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery. American flags can be found on the respected graves at all times. Eventually, the weathered flags are replaced with new ones. When the replacements take place is a mystery.
Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery
The most striking characteristic feature found in the Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery is the layout. Not only are the graves buried in dune sand, but a forest of Shore Pines, and Salal, Huckleberry and Manzanita have encroached on the area. Beds of bright green moss dominate the sandy ground like soft carpet. Unlike the traditional cemeteries where the headstones are seen in rows, to visit each individual grave, you must journey and weave through sandy paths surrounded by a mix of the coastal brush.
The experience alone is worth checking out this cemetery that has a lot of character.
The experience alone is worth checking out this cemetery that has a lot of character.
Lakeside Pioneer Cemetery
#2 ~Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery~
The Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery has one of the best examples of preserved historic architecture with a variety of headstones ranging from marble, granite, and even cast iron. The artistic delicate detail found in the cemetery is impressive. This cemetery also has the largest collection of curbing, a process used to surround the grave or plot. Such curbing helped get the cemetery recognized and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, along with the historic importance as the resting place of many of the people who were responsible for the making of Coos Bay, North Bend, and Coos County. Most likely, you'll find the last names of people to which many streets in Coos Bay, and buildings are named after.
The Marshfiled Pioneer Cemetery has approximately 2000 people resting there, and 99 of them are veterans whose service range from the Indian Wars of the 1850's to World War II. Among them, there are a number of Civil War veterans, 56 Union and 4 Confederate buried in the Cemetery.
   According to the cemetery's caretaker, Cricket Soules, there are a few unusual occurrences that are on going at the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery. One story goes, some years ago a small plastic Pegasus toy horse was left at the headstone of a child. Soon after, the Pegasus toy disappeared, so it was thought. But, eventually it would show up on another child's headstone, then disappear again, to only show up somewhere else in the cemetery. To this day, the Pegasus toy still moves around the cemetery. After a thorough search the mystery horse was once again discovered next to a child's grave. | In the north east corner of the cemetery, you'll discover three unique headstones worth checking out. First, is the headstone belonging to a Miss Ethel Jane Galbraith. She died in August of 1906 when she drowned...while bathing...in the Coos River near Allegany. Now why the words, "while bathing" were permanently chiseled into a large beautiful red slab of polished marble is a mystery, but the way she drowned was important enough for her loved ones let everyone know just exactly how she drowned. Second, not far from Miss Ethel Jane, you'll find the double headstone belonging to siblings Clyde and Erma Young. Clyde died at age 2 in 1883 and Erma died at the age of 1 in 1886. Both death dates are older than the establishment of the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery in 1891. They were most likely moved from another burial place and re-interred in the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery when other siblings were buried there in December 1889. Within less than a month's time after Clyde and Erma, died from diphtheria, their mother Ella died from heart failure...or a broken heart. Her resting place is next to Clyde and Erma in an unmarked grave. Third, not far from Erma and Clyde, you'll find the resting place for Abraham Lincoln. Who knew Abraham Lincoln was buried in Coos County! Well, this Lincoln was not the U.S. President, but nonetheless, his name is that of the same of the historic President. The Abraham Lincoln in the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery was the son of Parker and Mary Butler. Abraham died in a drowning accident in 1869 at the age of 3. His body was never located. Four years later, Abraham's father was lost at sea in a shipping accident.  |
Flowers are often brought to show respect to the lost loved one, but beware, if the flowers you bring to the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery, real or plastic, are red, then by morning just the red flowers would be thrown around the cemetery grounds. Why just the red flowers? Who is doing this? According to the cemetery's caretaker, Cricket Soules, the on going disturbance of the red flowers is not being caused by humans. What is doing this?
Upon investigation, Cricket discovered that sea gulls were the culprit. They would swoop into the cemetery during the early morning hours and peck at the red colored flowers. It is believed that the sea gulls are associating the proximity of the High School to food when student leave their trash on the ground. Candy wrappers or chip bags are often red in color. They are seeking out food. Once they discover the red flowers are not a tasty treat, they move to another grave site with red flowers.
Upon investigation, Cricket discovered that sea gulls were the culprit. They would swoop into the cemetery during the early morning hours and peck at the red colored flowers. It is believed that the sea gulls are associating the proximity of the High School to food when student leave their trash on the ground. Candy wrappers or chip bags are often red in color. They are seeking out food. Once they discover the red flowers are not a tasty treat, they move to another grave site with red flowers.
 | From the historic 1910 ship wreck of the Czarina with only one survivor out of twenty-four on board, six of them are buried in an unmarked section of the cemetery. Not all six were positively identified...to the death of Chief Daloose Jackson in 1907, a native Coos Indian who spoke the Hanis language, and lived peacefully among the white people despite his experiences with white people, and up until recently had an unmarked grave...there is a lot of local history revealed in the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery. |
#3 ~Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery~
With over 6,000 graves, the Sunset Memorial Park is one of Coos County's largest and newest cemeteries established in 1915 when the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery ran out of room. Several graves were moved from the Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery and re-interred in the Sunset Memorial Park, for various reason.
Very impressive upright headstone dominate the cemetery in the south east corner, several of which are older than the establishment of the cemetery. A common practice in memorialized their loved one is with a photo of person buried there. In the Pioneer section of the cemetery, there are three such headstone found where the photo is printed on porcelain.
| If only a headstone could talk, what would it say? Several headstones "do talk" in the form of an epitaph or inscription. Some epitaph are long, while others are short and to the point like this one found on a very elaborate headstone belonging to Mary A. Stambone who died in 1918. The epitaph reads, "May She Rest In Peace"  Or this simple stone that reads, "At Rest" |  |
 | Put to rest in the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery is one of Coos County's most famous individuals. His name was Steve Prefontaine, known as "Pre". Steve was an American middle and long-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Olympics. He was a champion runner who held the American record in seven different distance track events. On May 30th, 1975, at the age of 24, Steve tragically died in a single car wreck when he ran his car into a rock wall. As a result, the cause of death was determined to be alcohol-related. An unfortunate, tragic death taking a life far to soon. Steve Prefontaine's headstone is the only upright headstone in the section in which he is buried at Sunset Memorial Park. His grave is visited by thousands each year. |
| Today, the Sunset Memorial Park is mostly a "lawn" cemetery, with a few exceptions. A lawn cemetery is when the headstones lay flat, and make it easier for lawn mowing and maintenance. Though most, who don't have a loved one buried here, find such a cemetery boring or not attractive, one must get out and walk the grounds to discover the hidden flat beauty. It is amazing what you can discover. |  |
#4 ~Coos River "Pioneer" Cemetery~
Located near the confluence of the Millicoma River and the South Fork of the Coos River, the Coos River Pioneer Cemetery, also known as the South Fork Cemetery, is a well kept gem. Established in 1871, this large cemetery only has 130 known occupied graves.
 | Most likely the most prominent Coos County resident buried in the Coos River Pioneer Cemetery is the Horsfall Family. When the Horsfalls arrived on the south coast in 1889 as missionaries, they found no permanent church buildings in the 2,400 square miles district. The Rev. William Horsfall served as missionary and Dean of the Southern Convocation from 1889-1918. William taught school along the Kentuck Inlet before beginning medical studies. After graduating with a degree medical practice, He returned to Coos Bay in January 1893 and served as a doctor there for the next 64 years. He was one of the genuine old-time pioneer doctors, delivering over 1000 babies. He was on-call day and night and traveled on horseback, by boat or on foot, lantern in hand. Dr. William married Lydia Eliza Yoakam on April 7, 1896 in a ceremony officiated by his father. The Yoakam family is also buried in this cemetery. |
 | The cemetery has a great mix of different styles of headstones ranging from the large granite cross, belonging to the Horsfall family, to the well preserved decorative headstone throughout. You'll find several "lawn" style headstones, a few small statues and even a couple of delicate and rarely seen wooden headstones found in Coos County. Even though the Coos River Pioneer Cemetery is still used today, the forces of nature have not been so kind to it resting inhabitants. Ground settling has been a huge problem in some sections of the cemetery. Headstones are tilting left and right, and eventually, gravity will win. There is also a huge infestation of non-native European Ivy that keeps encroaching into the cemetery. Unless measures are taken to preserve such a historic site, nature will win. |
The Coos River Pioneer Cemetery is great to visit on warm sunny days. The drive up the river is scenic. The cemetery has big town residents but in a small country setting.
#5 ~Fairview Cemetery~
The Fairview Cemetery is a great example of what a well kept small country cemetery should look like. The volunteers who care for the cemetery take pride in the upkeep of the cemetery, keeping the site clean and well manicured at all times. The 168 people buried here are worth your visit.
Edward Neely died in 1898 at the age of 63. He and his family lived in the Fairview area working as Farmers. They Farmed in a time when life was much harder than it is today.
Edward and much of his family are buried at the Fairview Cemetery, atop a hillside over looking the valley. A beautiful, peaceful and well kept pioneer cemetery. All of Neely's family and relatives have very nice gravestones.
This small but moving military statue stands at the top of the headstone belonging to David Curtis Noah. He was born in 1949 and died in 2005. David was a PVT in the US Army. He served in Vietnam. There are several military Veterans in this cemetery.
| The Fairview Cemetery has unofficially been the destination cemetery used for the "John & Jane Doe's" in the county. It has been told that the "John Doe" cemetery started back in the 1950's when a young man was found dead in the woods not far from Fairview. His cause of death was never determined, and no one claimed his body. He was buried in an unmarked grave under a tree. A few residence of Fairview know which tree he is buried under, but to a passing visitor, they'd never know. Several other "unknown's" have been buried in the Fairview Cemetery. |  |
The cemetery has an equal amount of the older upright headstone and the newer flat "lawn" style headstones. Make sure you visit the cemetery during the day, for the cemetery is on private property, but it is open to the public to visit anytime when the gate is open.
#6 ~Bullards Family Cemetery~
Nestled high atop a forested sand dune hill and quietly overlooking the campers on loop "C", of the Bullards State Park campground, a lonely cemetery rests peacefully. This small family cemetery is well preserved and hidden throughout the Huckleberry, Salal, wild Rhododendron, Hemlock and large Shore Pines. If you were camping in loop "C" and didn't adventure out on your own, you would never know such a cemetery was near with headstones quietly standing, as if watching the activities of the campground below.
| Robert W. Bullard, for whom the bridge is named, migrated to Coos County from Iowa, in 1877. In 1882 Bullard established a general store and ferry crossing that operated from the north bank of the Coquille River. Today, the only visible trace of any sort of working community once existing in this area is the diminutive cemetery bearing the thirteen gravestones of three related pioneer families. Robert Bullard is buried here along with his wife, Malinda, a descendant of the Hamblocks and Longs, two of their six children, and other relatives. |  |
To search out this cemetery on your own, it will be difficult to know where to find it. The Bullards State Park does not openly advertise the cemetery's location in order to protect the delicate headstones from vandals. Though not advertized, it is open to the public to go visit. For directions, just stop by the campground registration booth, or the camp host for directions.
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#7 ~Norway "Pioneer" Cemetery~
The Norway Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Coos County dating back to 1875. The Cemetery has an unusual distinction unlike any other cemetery in Coos County. There is a tremendous amount of infants and very young children buried here. In the early 1900's and into the 1920's, a variety of deadly diseases like diphtheria, smallpox, and measles swept through the Coquille River Valley killing a large portion of the children. So many children were dying that a place for burial was needed immediately. With the location proximity between Coquille, Arago, and Myrtle Point, and that it only cost $50 to bury a child in the cemetery, the Norway Cemetery became the destination for immediate burials. The year 1920 was an especially deadly year for the families with infant children of the Coquille Valley.
 One year-old Eleanor Endicott died of Dysentery in 1920. |  Eleven month old William Barklow died of Influenza in 1920. |
According to the headstone belonging to the Johnston family, hardship of loss was severe and obviously, emotionally devastating. In 1905, the birth of a daughter named Opal was cut short when she died in the same year. Five years later, twin girls were born in 1910, but their lives were also cut short when both died in the same year of their birth. It is unclear of how the girls died.
 | The Norway Cemetery resides on a steep grassy hillside surrounded by a forest of Douglas Fir, Hemlock, and the rare Myrtlewood. This is not a cemetery for the weak of knees. The hill is steep and sliding or falling is common. Lawn mowing maintenance is tricky with such steep slopes, but the cemetery is kept up nicely. Several names that played huge rolls in the development of the towns throughout the Coquille River Valley can be found throughout the cemetery grounds. |
#8 ~Gravelford Pioneer Cemetery~
One of the finest examples of a small country cemetery being overtaken by the growth of a healthy forest would have to be the Gravelford Pioneer Cemetery established in 1884. From the gravel road, you can't see the cemetery. It's hidden up on a hillside underneath a dense canopy of a thriving forest. With the growth of the trees, less sunlight reaches the forest floor, keeping the place dark, damp, and mysterious. More and more of what was once new, is being embraced by the encroachment of the forest cycle.
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The inscription on William Albert Bright's headstone reads, "Lost to sight yet dear to memory". Such words coincides with the grounds of the cemetery being lost in the forest.
| To gain a sense of the harsh reality of what life was like in the county-side in the 1920's, then this cemetery will reveal such struggles, and accidents, and hardships. The dominate families in the cemetery are the Hobson's, Bright's and Shook's. All these families struggled with unexpected losses. James Hobson died from a cerebral hemorrhage due to a gun shot wound, Members of the Bright family died from pneumonia and apoplexy; Morgan Shook died from drowning, Milo Shook died from blood poisoning and Carrie Shook died of chronic valvular heart disease. Life on the farm was not easy and these families are witness to such hardships. |  |
Two-and-a-half year-old J.H. Chandler died in 1884, the same year the cemetery was established. Over the years, a healthy growing Douglas Fir's roots have been encroaching upon the headstone, "hugging" it around its base.
Coos County Cemetery Map Locator
The eight Coos County Cemeteries featured in this blog are listed and numbered in YELLOW in the order they appeared in the blog. An additional seven Coos County Cemeteries are listed in BLUE that are just as historic, unique, and worth visiting. If you love cemeteries, then you'll love all the cemeteries listed in yellow and in blue.
Sunset Memorial Park, Coos Bay ~and~ Myrtle Crest Memorial Gardens, Coquille
A cemetery can be a powerful place. Suddenly everything has perspective: our problems and mistakes, our challenges and dreams, our values and priorities. To walk amongst the headstones digesting that all we take with us are our deeds and who we have become, what potential we have realized and the value of our service to those we love. A cemetery is authoritative in its unassuming way of humbling us, and yet empowering in its wake-up call for us to appreciate what we have here and now and all the opportunities and pleasures life offers.
