Lone Fir: The Cemetery: A Guide

A guide to the notable markers, monuments, epitaphs, and history of Lone Fir Cemetery, in Portland, OR, including the true early history and history of the Chinese disinterment in 1949 when the bones were dug up and returned to China. Lone Fir was named by National Geographic as one of the ten best cemeteries in the world to visit in 2011. It's a fascinating Freethinkers' melange of prostitutes, statesmen, firemen, business people, suffragettes, and town characters under a canopy of mature trees. It's visited daily by mothers with baby carriages, bike riders, joggers, Russian grave-tenders, lovers, homeless people, musicians, students, and old people looking for a grave. Lone Fir: The Guide leads the reader to the best of the monuments, the best art, the most interesting epitaphs, and the nooks and crannies the casual visitor is likely to miss or not notice. It highlights the most significant markers that you shouldn't miss. The Guide also clears up the confused early history of the cemetery which includes the story of the Chinese community and their curiously intertwined history with Lone Fir beginning with a handshake in 1850 and continuing until most of their bones were shipped back to an uncertain fate in China in 1949. The old Chinese section, Block 14, is now headed towards being a memorial park for both the Chinese and anonymous patients from a former psychiatric hospital. Maps are included to facilitate locating monuments.