Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery
Kneeling Child Monument, located in the Robinson Family Block 268,
Masonic Section of the Jacksonville Cemetery.
Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery - Located in beautiful Jacksonville, Oregon, a National Landmark City
The Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery, Inc. was formed in 2008, and is an all volunteer, 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Our goals, then and now, remain the same: education, preservation, and restoration efforts for the cemetery.
With the first official burial of the remains of Mrs. Margaret Love, in October of 1859, it is one of the oldest and largest historic cemeteries in the state of Oregon and contains some of the earliest pioneer gravesites in all of Southern Oregon.
The Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery (FOJHC) hold fund raising events, host monument restoration and marker cleaning workshops, community clean-up days, monthly history programs, and annual Living History tours to raise funds to support our work and to make people aware of the importance and need to save our historic cemeteries and their treasures.
Our Mission
To Restore, Preserve, Document, and Safeguard our
Cemetery and its History for Future Generations.
We are dedicated to the restoration and preservation of this beautiful, peaceful, and tranquil final resting place in Jacksonville, Oregon. Our work includes the education of residents and visitors alike as to the importance of this significant historic site and how it relates to the history of Jacksonville, the Rogue Valley, and Southern Oregon. The Jacksonville Cemetery is the final resting place for many of the early "movers and shakers" of Jacksonville, formerly known as Table Rock City. Merchants, gold miners, farmers, judges, and doctors are just some of those who now rest below the canopy of Madrone trees. Grave markers reflect the great distances they traveled seeking their fortunes and a better way of life for themselves and their families. They read: born in England, Ireland, Germany, France, and from all over the United States.
Sharing their stories with local residents and visitors to our area provides a better understanding of why people came to Oregon and how Jacksonville and the Rogue Valley were developed. Much is owed to these Pioneers, and the Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery strive to preserve the markers of the deceased and the grounds that they sit on. Additionally we work to keep their stories alive for future generations to learn from and enjoy.