McHargue Cemetery

Built on Donation Land Claim land just before the wagons started rolling, McHargue is home to some of Oregon's earliest trail settlers.

By The Taphotourist

Yea, when mortality dissolves,

Shall I not meet thine hour unawed?

― Alice Cary

Settled near a onetime stagecoach stop, McHargue cemetery is a rare example of true Oregon overlander history with family names that can be found on the streets of nearby towns.

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Among the more prominent families buried here are the Templetons, whose youngest member, Robert, purportedly crossed the plains as an infant and was a constant source of curiosity for Native Americans met along the way.

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The oldest graves have long lost their markings as many early pioneer headstones were made of tufa, a soft and porous kind of limestone better suited to potting than memorials.

Officially there are approximately 90 interments at McHargue on 1 acre of land, though records show as many as 114 individuals connected to the site.

The cemetery is named for its first burial - a 7 year old girl named Ellen McHargue. She had become ill on the trail between Missouri and Oregon. Her father attempted burial three times before deciding on the ridge that is now the cemetery - a high enough spot for rain water to drain away from the grave.

The true first burial at McHargue is the source of mild controversy. There is record of another child’s grave with an earlier date but evidence leans toward the possibility of a reburial from another cemetery.

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To reach McHargue today, one must take a private road with permission. The cemetery is currently under the care of a nonprofit. It is near other historic interests such as a traditional 1 room schoolhouse and the famed Calapooia River, named for the Kalapuya tribe.