Over the years the Jacksonville Cemetery has grown in size with most Sections adding to their property at one time or another. Some of Oregon's earliest pioneers can be found resting under the canopy of the Madrones, in Jacksonville's Pioneer Cemetery.

There are many wonderful and interesting stories of those buried in the cemetery. Pioneers, men, women and children who made their way to Oregon, leaving behind their homes, most belongings, family and friends. It was a very difficult trip and was not an easy life after arriving at their destination. Most found a better life and some even became quite wealthy. There are farmers, ranchers, merchants, lawyers, judges, woodworkers and builders, doctors, teachers, newspaper editors, men of the church, and then there are the children. Hundreds of infants and young children buried throughout the cemetery whose life was cut short during birth, accidents, illness and epidemics. There are also over 350 Veterans buried in the cemetery with the oldest dating back to the war of 1812.

We also have those who could not afford to purchase a grave site or because of color or their nationality were not permitted to, they were buried in the County Section. This later became known as the Potter's Field.

Today, no matter who they were or where they are buried, all receive the same respect, care and attention from the Cemetery Sexton and our cemetery volunteers.

Below is just a sampling of some of the many stories waiting to be shared by the Jacksonville's Pioneers, who take a well deserved rest in Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery.

Jacob Ish - Born June 5, 1823, in Hillsborough, Loudoun County, Virginia and died on March 3, 1881, at the Ish Ranch, located about three miles from Jacksonville, Oregon. In 1860, wanting to escape the havoc threatened by the approaching Civil War, Jacob, sold his estates and slaves and along with his wife Eleanor (Ellen) Jones Ish, traveled to Oregon. His three bothers left Virginia and came west as well. Jacob purchased 320 acres of land just outside Jacksonville and started a ranch. He later bought an additional 320 acres giving him 640 acres in the heart of the Rogue River Valley. Jacob and Eleanor's only child, Sophenia, was born at the Ish ranch in 1864. Jacob continued to add to his land holdings and eventually became one of the largest land owners in Jackson County, with over 5,000 acres. The Ish ranch soon "became known far and wide for its broad fertile acres, sturdy stock, and immaculately maintained buildings." Ish found it extremely profitable to furnish supplies for government troops stationed at Fort Klamath and to the stagecoach stations along the road from Grants Pass to San Francisco. He also invested in mining and in swamp land, which he purchased through his brother William. Eleanor Ish died on July 29, 1877, from cancer. Her sister Sarah Elizabeth Jones, who was coming from Virginia to care for Eleanor, arrived on August 14, 1877. As Jacob was left to raise both his daughter, and a niece Phenie Ish, Sarah stayed on to help. She and Jacob were later married on October 7, 1878. Following Jacob's death in 1881 Sarah continued to manage the Ish ranch until her death in 1906. She was one of the wealthiest women in the county and was said to be a "woman of strong character and rare business ability."

The Ish Family is buried in Block 390 of the IOOF Section of the Jacksonville Cemetery.

William Green T'Vault - Born March 23, 1809 on board a ship as his parents emigrated from France to the United States. Died in 1869, reportedly the last victim of the smallpox epidemic of 1868-1869 in Jacksonville. His family eventually settled in Indiana where William spent his boyhood and later received his legal training. He practiced law in Boonesville, Indiana, and served in the state legislature. He married Rhoda Boone Burns, granddaughter of famous trapper and hunter Daniel Boone. In 1845 T'Vault, his wife, two daughters, and young son started their westward journey to Oregon. They joined a company of "66 wagons and 293 persons" traveling the Oregon Trail from St. Joseph, Missouri, on a trip that would take eight long, hard, and difficult months to reach Oregon. He first settled in Oregon City and set up a law practice. Later, with the help of three fellow members of the Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club, formed the Oregon Printing Association, the first printing and publishing company west of the Rocky Mountains. The Association started the Oregon Spectator, Oregon's first newspaper. In 1852, T'Vault moved his family to the Rogue River Valley, settling on a 640 acre donation land claim, which he named Dardanelles. His acreage, located on the Rogue River, was reportedly the first farm settled in the valley. In 1855, T'Vault decided to reenter the newspaper business and established The Table Rock Sentinel (renamed the Oregon Sentinel in 1859), the first newspaper printed in Southern Oregon. The first edition appeared in Jacksonville on November 24, 1855, with the stated policy of "being independent on all subjects, and devoted to the best interests of Southern Oregon." T'Vault resumed his law practice in 1858. That same year he was elected to the Oregon provisional legislature and became speaker of the house at the 1859 session. At the time of his death, he held the position of District Attorney of the 1st Judicial District. His obituary lamented, "It is painful to reflect that after a busy life and prominent services he should be struck down by so dreadful a malady that not a single mourner dared follow him to his grave."

The T’Vaults are buried in Block 243 of the City Section of the Jacksonville Cemetery

Little Sylvester Wait – Died December 14, 1859 Age 1 year 6 months and 21 days Sadly, his burial was one of the first, in the newly opened cemetery, in December of 1859. Like many of the lonely children’s gravesites that can be found throughout the cemetery grounds, children died and families moved on. Sylvester’s father, Sylvester Mather Wait was a drover, raising cattle and marketed them by driving them to the gold fields in California. In 1855 he built the first flour mill in Southern Oregon at what is now Phoenix (then referred to as Gasburg or Wait’s Mill). He hauled his flour by freight wagon with oxen and horses to points as far away as San Francisco for a market. Mr. Wait was a member of the Jacksonville Masonic Lodge and was later one of the charter members of the Phoenix Lodge No. 23. Sometime after 1862, the Wait family moved to Walla Walla County in the Washington Territory where he started a flour mill near the present town of Waitsburg which honors his name.

Sylvester Wait is buried in Block 326 of the Masonic Section of the Jacksonville Cemetery and is cared for by volunteers.