Lee Mission Cemetery - Salem, Oregon
Posted by: 
ddtfamily
N 44° 56.604 W 123° 00.586
10T E 499229 N 4976662
A pioneer cemetery established in 1842 in Salem, Oregon
Waymark Code: WMFJPR
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 10/27/2012
Views: 4
Lee Mission Cemetery, also known as Jason Lee Cemetery, serves as the final resting place for many of Salem's pioneers, but is also the site of current burials. There are more than 3,300 graves. Unfortunately, the cemetery is a frequent target of vandalism, likely due to its location in a less affluent part of northeast Salem.
The most famous burial is that of the Reverend Jason Lee, one of the founding fathers of the state of Oregon. The date on the gate "1838" refers to the death year of Rev. Lee's first wife, Anna Maria Pittman Lee, but the first burial at the cemetery was Lee's second wife and baby son in 1842.
Lee's grave marker reads:
REV. JASON LEE
1803-1845
METHODIST MINISTER
FIRST MISSIONARY
IN OREGON
COLONIZER
1834-1843
FOUNDER OF
WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
