River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)

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River View Cemetery is a non-profit cemetery located in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1882, it is the final resting place of many prominent and notable citizens of Oregon, including many governors and members of the United States Senate. Other notable burials include Henry Weinhard's family, W.A.S.P Pilot Hazel Ying Lee, football player Lyle Alzado, baseball player Carl Mays, and famous western lawman Virgil Earp.

History

River View Cemetery Association was founded as a non-profit cemetery by William S. Ladd, James Terwilliger, Henry Failing, Henry W. Corbett, Henry Pittock, Simon Benson, and others in 1882. All those who joined co-owned the cemetery. In 1902 a Roll Call statue was added to honor the 165 Oregonians who died in the Spanish–American War. The statue stood for 121 years before being stolen in 2023. The first adult burial was Dr. William Henry Watkins. In the 1940s a 135-person chapel was added, designed by Pietro Belluschi.

Facilities

Overlooking the Willamette River, the cemetery has a variety of mausoleums including the Hilltop Garden Mausoleum and Main Mausoleum. There are also private mausoleums and crypts. River View is an endowment care cemetery as defined by the state of Oregon.

Property and surplus land

River View Cemetery occupies approximately 350 acre on the west slope of the Willamette River, south of Downtown Portland, but approximately half of the property is not a developed cemetery. Initially, this excess land was held for future expansion of the cemetery, but demographic trends away from burial (in favor of cremation) have reduced the need for future expansion. For example, in 1973 eight percent of Oregonians chose cremation, versus 68 percent in 2010. In 2006, the River View Cemetery Association sought to develop 184 acre of their surplus land into residential properties, and filed a $24 million compensation claim under the 2004 Oregon Ballot Measure 37 and 2007 Oregon Ballot Measure 49. In 2007, the River View Cemetery Association submitted an application to change the zoning of the surplus land from open space to single-family residential for 182 housing units. On May 2, 2011, the City of Portland announced that it had agreed to purchase 146 acre of this undeveloped surplus land for $11.25 million, which will be managed by Portland Parks & Recreation with the initial goals of habitat stabilization, removal of invasive species, and trail and access planning.

Notable burials

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