Oregon - Baker County - Auburn Cemetery

Submitted by W. David Samuelsen

Auburn Cemetery

Auburn was a mining town and was the seat of Baker County from 1862 to 1868. It 
is reached by taking State Highway 7 south out of Baker City for about 7 miles 
to its junction with a dirt road south of Baker City (at end of Bowen valley south
of Baker City). Turn right on this road in the  Blue Canyon  about 3 miles. Auburn
is to the right and the cemetery is one mile beyond on a hill overlooking the 
no-longer existent ghost town. High ground was chosen for the cemetery so it 
would not be mined out later, the canyon being of very rich ground. This is one 
of the earliest cemeteries in the county.

Originally there were three cemeteries in this vicinity, one for whites and two
for Chinese. One Chinese cemetery was just over the hill from the Auburn Cemetery,
the other was a later cemetery north of Auburn. Most bodies from these Chinese 
cemeteries had been shipped back to China and buried in their homeland.

There were over 100 burials in the Auburn Cemetery, established in 1862 but many
of the graves are now unmarked and cannot be identified. Only 1 is visible today.
Names of the first 5 men to be buried are not known as none of them died of 
natural causes and stone markers were not erected. There are no known records 
maintained for this cemetery. Grounds are abandoned to the wilds. The acreage is
.05.

Known burials are as as followed:
BROWN, Alma                  .. ... ....     .. ... 1894
                           from Akron, OH - shot by Joe SEARCY in Auburn
                           grave marked by plain board, now gone
DESMOND, J.                  .. ... 1825     18 Nov 1862
                           in Falls River, MA, killed by Spanish Tom.
French Pete                  .. ... ....     .. Nov 1862
                           alleged murderer who was hanged.
GOZINE, John                 .. ... 1860     28 Oct 1862
                           son of S. & M.; aged 2 years 4 days.
                           (Name also spelled as COSINE).
GRANT, Dr. Charles           .. ... ....     01 Aug 1866
                           grandfather of Maud ALEXANDER of Hermiston, OR.
GRANT, Mary W.               .. ... ....     27 May 1863
                           wife of Dr. Charles Grant
GRIFFIN, Henry H.            .. ... ....     03 Jan 1883
                           discoverer of gold in Eastern Oregon. born 1824 or 1834
GRIFFIN, Mrs.                .. ... ....     05 July 1876
                           wife of Henry H.
GRIFFIN, son                 .. ... ....     04 May 1876
                           son of Henry H.
JONES, John J.             11 Sep 1822     06 Dec 1877
                           born in Warren Co KY - died Auburn
LABARREE, H. M.              .. ... 1832     18 Nov 1862
                           killed by Spanish Tom. From Indiana
PARKINSON, Eliza Elizabeth   .. ... ....     14 Oct 1865
                             3 year old daughter of Mrs. David Littifield
                             (then Mrs. Grant).
Spanish Tom                  .. ... ....     .. Nov 1862
                             alleged murderer who was hanged.

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         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by:   W. David Samuelsen
                      < dsam@sampubco.com >
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