I.O.O.F Eastwood Cemetery

In the late 1960's, the Medford I.O.O.F. Lodge acknowledged their declining membership and depleted funds and asked the City and County to operate the cemetery. In 1969 the County passed a resolution of intent showing that they were agreeable to assuming joint responsibility of the cemetery, but at that time State law would not allow the County to expend funds for operating cemeteries. On December 16, 1969, the I.O.O.F. Lodge and the City signed an agreement stating the Lodge would operate the cemetery until their funds were exhausted and then transfer ownership to the City.  In January of 1972 official cemetery ownership came into City hands.

In 1988, the City applied to the State of Oregon Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation and received a favorable recommendation for recognition. The City received notification on March 16, 1989 from the Department of the Interior that the property was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. In 1986 a fervent effort by a small group of devoted citizens pressed the City to increase maintenance levels. Partial funding was restored for fiscal year 1987-88 and care of the cemetery by the City continues. Cities all over the country are now beginning to recognize the valuable role that pioneer cemeteries play in urban settings. They provide open space and serve as buffers within the city, as well as outdoor museums. The I.O.O.F. Eastwood Cemetery reveals the City's past development in two highly visible ways. Medford, which once looked east toward the place its dead were buried, now envelops that place. Visitors to the cemetery can view not only early burial ground and markers, but can visualize the original appearance of the land at the time of settlement.

 

The cemetery contains markers carved by several accomplished area stone carvers, an all but lost traditional art form. James Carr Whipp, proprietor of the Jacksonville Marble Works, has several representative stones there.  Whipp's markers are found in several locations throughout the region and the State. He also executed stone work on the Oregonian Building, Portland Hotel and Tillamook Lighthouse. He came to southern Oregon in 1883 to work on the Jackson County Court House in Jacksonville. The stained glass window in the mausoleum is credited to the Povey Brothers of Portland.  The glass was hand painted and then burned, making the coloring indestructible.