Beneath the quiet canopy of oaks and firs, Salem Pioneer Cemetery holds more than remains; it cradles the city’s foundational memories. The weathered headstones and ornate mausoleums, their inscriptions softened by a century of Pacific Northwest rain, mark the final resting places of architects of a fledgling community that has since blossomed as beautifully as its cherry blossom trees. Their stories of ambition, hardship, and legacy are etched not just in stone but into the very fabric of the Willamette Valley, and it is here that we honor and remember Salem’s earliest pioneers.
A Decorated Explorer: Frederick Schwatka (1849-1892)
Among the founders and citizens of Salem lies a man of exceptional ambition: Frederick Schwatka, a decorated Army officer and celebrated Arctic explorer. Born in Illinois and raised in Salem, Schwatka graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1871, having studied law and medicine simultaneously, before embarking on a career that would take him to the far corners of the earth.
He became internationally known for his grueling expeditions, most notably his 1878 expedition into the Canadian Arctic to find the remains of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition. By learning and adapting the survival techniques of the Inuit, he and his team were able to cover an astounding 2,709 miles over eleven months, a record-breaking journey at the time. Schwatka’s remarkable career as an explorer and geographer also included a 1,300-mile raft journey down the Yukon River. The unassuming headstone of this extraordinary figure at plot 113 stands as a powerful reminder of Salem’s connection to a world of adventure.
A Pioneer in Politics: Stephen F. Chadwick (1825-1895)
The Salem Pioneer Cemetery is home to many who gave their lives to build a community, including Stephen F. Chadwick, a lawyer and Democratic politician who played a critical role in Oregon’s early governance. Born in Connecticut, he arrived in the Oregon Territory in 1851. He quickly put his legal mind to work, setting up a law firm in the Douglas County settlement of Scottsburg and undertaking the role of the town’s first postmaster.
Eventually, he ran for the newly created position of Judge of Douglas County. From there, Chadwick’s career ascended through the ranks of early state government, culminating in his historic assumption of the governorship in 1877 after the resignation of La Fayette Grover. This was a powerful moment, as he was the first to take the office through the state’s line of succession to become the fifth governor of Oregon. As Secretary of State, he had already left his mark by proposing Pioneer Day as a state holiday, a tribute to the very people he governed. The simple gravestone of this influential statesman tells a story of a life dedicated to public service.
The Mother of Oregon: Tabitha Moffatt Brown (1780-1858)
The silent narratives of Salem Pioneer Cemetery are incomplete without the story of Tabitha Moffatt Brown, a woman whose indomitable spirit forged a lasting legacy in the Oregon Territory. At the remarkable age of 66, she undertook the perilous journey along the Oregon Trail with her family, facing unimaginable hardships along the way and arriving in the Willamette Valley with little to her name. Yet, rather than despairing, she used her final coin to buy sewing supplies and began to work, affording herself the ability to finally settle in Forest Grove.
Her true calling, however, was to care for orphaned children, a mission that led to the establishment of Tualatin Academy, an institution that would later become Pacific University. Brown’s dedication to education and social welfare earned her the enduring title of the “Mother of Oregon.” Beneath Salem’s moss-clad oaks, her modest headstone at plot 44 stands as a tribute to a woman whose industrious hands shaped both livelihoods and young minds.
Leaving a Ledger: Asahel Bush (1824-1913)
A man of letters, Asahel Bush’s sway began not on a farm, but at a printing press. Arriving first in Portland in 1850, he established the Oregon Statesman newspaper in March of the following year. When the capital was later moved to Salem in 1853, Bush followed suit, moving the newspaper there as well, where it would later become Salem’s Statesman Journal.
Like newspapers of today, Bush used his pages to shape public opinion and engage in political discourse, albeit as a leader of the Democratic Party; it was hardly a bipartisan effort. While he quietly opposed slavery, he was a staunch proponent of popular sovereignty, as well as the 1857 Oregon Constitutional ban on Blacks immigrating to the state, and leveraged his publisher role to outwardly oppose abolitionist sentiments in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Bush would later sell the newspaper in 1863, trading publication for finance to co-found Ladd and Bush Bank in Salem with business partner William S. Ladd. His modest burial at plot 66 stands as a muted testament to a man whose printed words once fanned political flame, paying tribute to a man who, for better or worse, was a central figure in shaping both the political and financial landscape of early Salem.
A Founding Republican: Isaac R. Moores (1796-1861)
Kentucky-born Isaac R. Moores first made a name for himself serving under Andrew Jackson’s flag in the Seminole and Black Hawk Wars before leading a 70-wagon train to Oregon Territory in 1852 and staking a 1,710-acre claim in Lane County. He parlayed battlefield leadership into civic office when he was elected to represent Lane County in the 1855 Territorial Legislature. Two years later, he sat on the military affairs committee at the 1857 Constitutional Convention in Salem, his battlefield insights shaping the new state’s defense clauses.
Though he represented Lane County as a Democrat at both historic events, his opposition to slavery would later result in the shedding of his Democratic ties to join the newly minted Republican Party. Under the new banner, he’d run as the party’s nominee in the 1860 Senate campaign, though he ultimately fell short of victory. Sadly, Moores would never hold office again. He died in Eugene in April 1861, just days before the Civil War erupted. Interred at plot 9, his final resting place tells the story of a soldier turned statesman whose principles evolved with his nation’s conscience.
These short portraits are only the beginning of the stories resting beneath Salem Pioneer Cemetery’s moss-clad oaks, where dozens more settlers, including farmers, teachers, artisans, and dreamers, lie in quiet repose. Each unassuming headstone holds a chapter of the valley’s unfolding history, a testament to resilience, vision, and community. Here, amid hushed pathways and weathered stones, the collective memory of early Oregon emerges, inviting us to honor the courage and conviction that forged our community.
