Salem, Oregon
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The original five acres of the historic community cemetery, founded as Odd Fellows Rural Cemetery in 1854, were acquired by Chemeketa Lodge No. 1 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) from Reverend David Leslie, a former Methodist missionary. The land claim extended south along the Territorial Road, covering the area now surrounding the intersection of South Commercial and Hoyt Streets.
The Methodist Mission in Oregon was established in 1834 by Reverend Jason Lee on the bank of the Willamette River, about 10 miles north of present-day Salem. It was the first mission to Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1841, the mission headquarters moved to Chemeketa (now Salem), where it was reorganized and later disbanded. Reverend Leslie claimed land at the southern edge of the Salem townsite, which had been developed by former missionaries. He settled there with his second wife, Adelia Judson Olley, also a former missionary.
Reverend Leslie, his second wife Adelia, and their two young daughters are buried in the original Odd Fellows plat on the Leslie land claim. Reverend Leslie’s first wife, Mary A. Kinney, who had died at the mission in 1841, was later reinterred in the Leslie family plot.
The year of Mary’s death (1841) is the earliest date seen on grave markers in the cemetery. This led to a brief misconception that the cemetery was founded in 1841, rather than its actual founding year of 1854.
Salem’s Odd Fellows Rural Cemetery is one of the oldest fraternal-society-sponsored burial grounds in Oregon. These cemeteries were typically established to fulfill the order’s charter obligation to care for the final needs of its members.