The ‘End of the Oregon Trail’ was no pot of gold for many who survived to see it. Hardships endured along and after the migration left a portion of the pioneers with nothing, including their sanity. Today, we call it post-traumatic stress disorder. Upon the formation of Oregon statehood in 1859, Dr. James C. Hawthorne was awarded the contract to care for the insane.
The Oregon Hospital for the Insane opened in 1862 and was a model for the country in compassionate care. Dr. Hawthorne was forward-thinking, realizing that those in his care maintained their humanity and deserved ‘moral treatment’. He built his hospital in a quiet area (212 acres around today’s Southeast Tenth and Hawthorne Streets) and gave his patients time outdoors, holiday celebrations, religious observances and musical performances. They grew their own food and all who could were engaged in gainful activities.
The doctor also promised a decent burial to any of his patients who died in his care, if they had been abandoned by their families (common at the time). Over time, 132 inmates (as they were called then) were buried at Lone Fir, as well as Dr. Hawthorne himself. Adjacent to the Chinese cemetery is the plot where the inmates were buried. Having discovered this in the archaeological findings surrounding the Block 14 investigation, Metro decided to include a memorial for Dr. Hawthorne’s patients in the design. For more information about the Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery memorial park site design, visit www.oregonmetro.gov/cemeteries.
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