Eugene Masonic Cemetery

rdf:langString Eugene Masonic Cemetery

rdf:langString Masonic Cemetery and Hope Abbey Mausoleum

rdf:langString Masonic Cemetery and Hope Abbey Mausoleum

rdf:langString Lawrence, Ellis F.; Portland Mausoleum Co.

rdf:langString Oregon#USA

rdf:langString The Eugene Masonic Cemetery, the oldest chartered cemetery in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the oldest privately owned and continuously operating historic entities in Lane County. It was incorporated as a burial site in 1859, the same year Oregon became a state. As was the custom at the time, the Eugene City fathers asked a local fraternal organization—in this case, the Freemasons—to establish a city "bury ground" open to all. The Masons purchased ten acres on a knoll about two miles from the town center and laid out the cemetery with its main entrance at what is now the intersection of University Street and 25th Avenue. In 1994, cemetery ownership passed from the Masons to the non-profit Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association, whose board members are volunteers. The EMCA retains "Masonic" in the cemetery's name as an important historic reference, but it is no longer officially affiliated with Freemasonry. The cemetery contains Hope Abbey Mausoleum which, together with the cemetery itself, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.