Located on Adam P. Nye D.L.C.

From "Sweet Home: In the Oregon Cascades" by M. Carey & P. Hainline:

"The Nye/Liberty Cemetery is located on part of the Adam Nye claim in the Liberty area about three miles northwest of Sweet Home. Marvin J. Nye, grandson of Adam, told interviewer Leslie Haskin that Adam donated the land for the cemetery after his wife died. Adam died soon after, and the only markers for their graves were two cedar trees. The earliest marked burial is that of Harriet Nye, infant daughter of the Adam Nyes, who died in 1861.

"This cemetery was used by Pleasant Valley, Sweet Home and Holley people, as well as families who lived towards Lebanon. Jesse Barr, 1818-1893, had a claim nearby. William Piper, 1828-1913, once ran "Pipers Ferry" across the Santiam River. William Matlock, 1825-1875, who lived between Holley and Crawfordsville, built the first bridge across the Calapooia River at Holley in 1872. Asher Hamilton operated a store in Sweet Home in the early 1890s. Among other families represented in the Nye/Liberty Cemetery are Wodtli, Hahn, Klum, Donaca, Forster, Harrison, Ingram, Yost, Coulter, Horner, Morris, Paddock, Moss, Weddle, Gabriel."

The following information is transcribed from the WPA Linn County Cemetery Survey, researched & prepared by Leslie L. Haskin on  6/7/1939:

The Nye Cemetery is situated in the North East one-fourth of Section 26, Township 13 South of Range 1 West in Linn County, Ore., and on a portion of the original A. P. (Adam) Nye Donation land claim....

No exact history of this cemetery could be obtained save that it was first donated for cemetery purposes of Adam Nye, the man who took up the original Donation Land Claim here. According to information received from M. J. Nye of Sweet Home, a grandson of the original claim owner, Adam Nye gave the land and he and his wife were the first persons buried there. No exact date of their deaths could be obtained. It is presumed that the wife died first and was buried here and the husband soon followed after the land had been set aside as a cemetery. No monument marks the graves of these first burials but their resting place is beneath two large cedar trees, and these are the only trees of any size growing with the cemetery.

The first burial definitely recorded here is that of an infant daughter of the above A. P. & M. Nye who died n November 11, 1861, aged less than a year. The second burial of record is that of another member of the Nye family, Lewis B. by name, a son of J. L. & H. Nye who died on November 8, 1862 at the age of slightly over a year. The third recorded death date is that of Adaline Klum who died on March 13, 1864.

The earliest birth date recorded here seems to have been that of William Arnold, born January 2, 1802. The second is Mrs. Sarah A. Moss born June 6, 1816. Apparently this latter was of the very old pioneer Moss family of Sweet Home.

Historical & Biographical Notes:

Wm. R. Barr. Died Oct 21, 1869. One of the early burials here. The Barrs were prominent early pioneers in the Sweet Home neighborhood. A 12-year old boy.

Jas. M. Barr. Died 1866. Another member of the same family as the last. A young man 22 years of age.

Jesse Barr. 1818-1893. Same family as the last two. A prominent pioneer. His Donation land claim was in Section 34, Township 13 South of Range 1 West.

P. A. Nye. His burial is under the two cedar trees in this section. He owned the original D.L.C. here and gave the land for the cemetery. His grave is among the first here.

H. B. Polley. His son, Thornton L. Polley is buried here. The Polley D.L.C. was in Section 25, Township 13 S, Range 1 W. It lay in the valley east of this cemetery and on the banks of the Santiam River.

G. W. Klum. 1825-1913.
C. J. Klum. 1830-1906. Pioneers of an early date. His D.L.C. was in Section 30, Township 12 South of Range 2 West. It bordered on the Santiam river a mile or so below Waterloo.

Harriet E. Daughter of A. P. & M. Nye. 1861-1861. Daughter of the founder of the cemetery. One of the very early burials here.

Wm. Piper. 1828-1913. A very Early pioneer. His D.L.C. was situated on the Santiam a few miles below this point. There was a "Piper's Ferry" across the Santiam in Sec. 11. T. 13 S. R. 1 W. (in the year 1878).

Wm. Matlock. 1825-1975. A pioneer of the region between Crawfordsville and Holly [sic]. His D.L.C. was in Section 2, Township 14 South of Range 1 East. He built the first bridge across the Calapooia River at Holly [sic]. The present bridge at that spot is named the "Matlock Bridge" in his honor.

John W. Kirk. 1828-1923. An old man who was an early pioneer. His D.L.C. was situated on the east side of the South Santiam in Section 14, Township 13 South of Range 1 West.

The Honorable William Henry Ingram. 1847.1926. An early pioneer , one time member of the Oregon Legislature. His home was in Section 8, Township 13 South of Range 1 West. At that location a W. H. Ingram took up a D.L.C. but it is presumed that it was the father of this man.

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The Death of Black Hawk Indian

There is a grave not included in the Nye Cemetery but near at hand which should be mentioned here. It is the grave of an Indian commonly known as Black Hawk. The following facts were furnished by Mrs. Grace Ingram Gunderson whose family (Ingram) were pioneer settlers in the hill region to the west.

Black Hawk, supposedly a Calapooia Indian. His home was in the hills near the Ingram claim. He and his wife were considered very good Indians by the settlers. In calling at the Ingram home he would invariably bring a dressed digger squirrel as a present. Black Hawk was removed with the other Indians to the reservation (probably Grand Ronde) but refused to remain there. Twice he and his wife returned and were taken back to the reserve. A third time Black Hawk returned alone, his wife being dead. As he was growing old he was allowed to stay. He finally died and was buried a short distance below (North) of the Nye Cemetery. The exact spot of the grave is reported to be: "North of the road leading to the cemetery and between Highway 564 and a dirt road paralleling it at the top of the first steep pitch. The grave is believed to be just at the foot of the above mentioned first steep pitch. Mr. Si Barr is said to be able to point out the exact spot.

When Black Hawk would return from the reservation he always notified the Ingrams of his presence in the neighborhood but would beg them to tell no one else.

[--end of Haskin WPA survey.]

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References used to prepare these cemetery pages are provided.
Lisa L. Jones prepared and is solely responsible for the content of these pages. 
Copyright 2001.