Edited by Randi Bjornstad
On Sunday and Monday, May 24-25, the Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association will host a series of events honoring those who have fought and died for our country. Flags will fly over veterans’ graves, and “Taps” will be played both days at 12:15 p.m. in the Public Square by trumpeter Barry Barreau.
The gates of the woodsy 10-acre historic cemetery, located at the corner of University Street and East 25th Avenue in southeast Eugene, will open at 11 a.m. both days for drop-offs, but there is no public parking in the cemetery itself; free parking is available on neighboring streets. Hope Abbey will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.
Cemetery tours begin at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. To participate, meet the tour guide in the mausoleum. The Sunday tour will focus on the landscape of the cemetery, led by site manager Diego Llewellyn-Jones. The Monday tour will be given by Caroline Forell, focusing on the history of the cemetery.
Brochures and maps for self-guided tours are also available in Hope Abbey. A special activity will be History Hunts, a scavenger hunt for older children and their families. Using maps of the cemetery available in the mausoleum, participants can explore the cemetery to find the historic graves, many of which have printed narratives of historical families posted by the family plots, with a prize for all youthful participants.
The first Music on the Square free concert of the season will be on Sunday, May 24, with the Dubious Rubes scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Bring blankets or low chairs to be comfortable on the grass. For easier access to the Public Square, people with mobility issues can be dropped off at the cemetery’s southeast entrance at the end of Elinor Street, for a pleasant level walk without much elevation change.
This year’s event will include something new: Some family gravesites will include “ghosts” to tell you their personal historic stories. Check at the mausoleum if you have trouble spotting them.
The Eugene Masonic Cemetery was established in 1859 and is the site of many of Eugene’s most historical figures and their families, including city namesake Eugene Skinner and Wiley Griffon, a horse-drawn trolley car operator and one of the city’s earliest African-American citizens.
For more information about the Eugene Masonic Cemetery and its 2026 schedule of activities, go online to eugenemasoniccemetery.org
