Jacksonville community members volunteer to clean up historic cemetery

JACKSONVILLE, Ore. – This weekend people are thinking of those who are no longer with us.

Community members in Jacksonville headed out to the historic Logtown Cemetery on November 12th to carry on a decades-long tradition.

Volunteers helped to clean up the cemetery, many of them actually have family members buried there.

Organizers say the tradition of families and community members cleaning up the cemetery goes back as far as 19-39 and is still going strong today.

“Once a year we get things cleaned up, spoofed up, and make sure everybody is treated with respect who is buried here. It warms my heart that so many people are getting together to help one another and honor this place,” said Evelin Winningham, Treasurer for Logtown Cemetery.

Winningham says about twice as many people showed up to help this year than in years past.

Organizers say the historic cemetery dates back to the 1850s during Jacksonville’s early days with most of its pioneering families buried there.