Crescent Grove Cemetery & Mausoleum, Tigard’s only non-profit, non-denominational cemetery, celebrated 150 years of service in 2002. The cemetery got its name from the original area of cleared ground, which was in a crescent shape. The cemetery was part of the Davies Land Grant and is one of the oldest historical pioneer cemeteries in the Portland Metro Area.
Historic Cemetery
As a local Southwest Community landmark, many of Tigard’s original families are buried here. Some names on earlier headstones, taken from a map of the Tigard area, include early generations of Tigard’s, Gaarde’s, Greenberg’s, Frewing’s, Teufel’s, Barnes’, Elsner’s, and Hall’s, all of whom are buried in the cemetery and mausoleum.
Past to Present Overseers
Around 1929 Henry Erickson, whose farmland adjoined the cemetery grounds in what is now Washington Square, started maintaining the grounds and hand digging the graves. When Henry died in 1964, the Croft family took over as caretakers of the cemetery and did so until 1994.
Now the cemetery has a five-member board that was elected by the members of the Crescent Grove Cemetery Association to oversee the cemetery. The daily operations of the cemetery are accomplished by a general manager and a staff of three.
Acres of Peaceful Beauty
You will find our lovely, well-maintained cemetery east of Washington Square as you drive down Greenburg Road, between Hall Boulevard and 217. If you are not looking for it, you may not see it.
The cemetery now occupies 21 acres which includes mausoleum crypts and traditional ground burial for casket placement as well as urn gardens, scatter gardens, and niches for cremated remains. Crescent Grove Cemetery & Mausoleum is an endowment care cemetery.
Tombstone Names
Visitors coming to the cemetery will find headstones dating back to 1852. Some of our older headstones and inscriptions include one sarcophagus, which reads, “Mary A. Bryan 1816–1898. Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Other graves are inscribed with precisely how long the person lived, such as “Charles Wood, Son of Edward and Ann M. Wood, Died Feb. 10, 1878, 19 years, 11 months, and 28 days.”
Another tombstone reads “Gone Home” and has a finger pointing to the heavens. It was reported that during a major windstorm in the mid-1990s an enormous tree crashed down, landing perfectly between neighboring rows of tombstones and harming not a one.
How Tigard Got Its Name
Wilson Tigard, who settled in Washington County, Oregon, gave his name to first the town of Tigardville, which later became Tigard. For more information on this pioneer’s account of travel, strolling through the grounds reveals some interesting historical footnotes.