Honoring The Past in Jacksonville's Masonic Cemetery

May 2nd, 2026

The City of Jacksonville's Cemetery is a remarkable historic site.  Perched on a hill overlooking the city and with extensive mountain views, the burial areas include designated plot sections for religions as well as fraternal groups.  This historic brochure and map is a wonderful sampling of the stories here laid to rest.

Our Warren Lodge #10 has been entrusted and endowed to perform the upkeep of the Masonic section, a responsiibility we take very seriously, honoring our past brethren.  Cornelius Beekman,, whose stone is shown above, is among the most prominent plots in the Masonic section.  You can see his granite stone is still drying after hand scrubbing and pressure wash.  Beekman is considered one of the most important Oregonians of the 19th century, and was a past master of our lodge for 12 years.

Our maintenance includes tree pruning, weeding, repair of monuments and boundary markers, and providing benches for visitors' repose.   

Today we had the help of members of the Jacksonville Ward from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We were also joined today by the Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery, who volunteer to maintain other areas of the cemetery. Please visit their site for some incredible historical resources and an appreciation of how we all treasure this important site.

The Beall plot has this minimalist monument, which was almost completely black before our work on it today.  Brother Jim is finishing up the last areas on the base, before he....

Enjoys a donut!  Thank you to all who came out today, and those that came to help.  This work means a lot to us, to the city, and to the continuity of the traditions of Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley.  Thank you all!

P.S. For a fabulous deeper dive into the lives of some of the more prominent Jacksonville Oregon residents buried here, and some incredible stories of the communities served by the cemetery (of special note, the Chinese diaspora and their temporary use of the cemetery), pick up Silent City on the Hill by William M. Miller.