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Bandon’s Averill Pioneer Cemetery Tour |
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Tour the Averill/ Pioneer/ G.A.R. Cemetery when you visit Bandon. Going up the hill towards the Bandon Shopping Center on highway 101, take Harlem Ave north (left). Follow Harlem Avenue for about ¼ mile to the cemetery on your left. The sign will say “Averill Pioneer Cemetery”.
Not only is there a spectacular view of Bandon Old Town and the mouth of the Coquille River but there’s over a hundred years of Bandon history up there.
The cemetery is actually three cemeteries that are on one continuous piece of land. The three cemeteries are the Pioneer, also called the “Averill” Cemetery; the G.A.R. or Grand Army of the Republic cemetery; and the Catholic Cemetery. For historical purposes, this tour concentrates on the Pioneer and the G.A.R. sections.
You’ll see many “Pioneer Cemeteries” in this area of Oregon. There was a major westward movement (“Go west, young man.”), which began in the mid-1800’s. By 1850, the Oregon Trail was being used so much, unrelated wagon trains would often be within sight of each other. There’s an interesting account of this westward movement in the book, “The Oregon Trail”, which is available at the museum gift shop.
Pioneers are those who are considered to be the original settlers of this area.
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Although the city of Bandon was founded by the Averill family, it was named by George Bennett who came to Oregon from Bandon, Ireland in 1873. He was an influential early settler and is responsible for naming the city “Bandon”. The citizens of the area incorporated under that name in 1891.
There’s also a “Lord Bennett’s” restaurant named after him out on Beach Loop Road.
George Bennett is buried in plot #70 which is right on the bluff to the left of the cemetery road. Look for a fairly large tombstone. |
