Malone Cemetery

2741 OR-99W  |  Circa 1850 

Members of the 1843 wagon train that also brought the Newby and Cozine families to the McMinnville
area, Madison Malone and his wife Virginia settled on land to the north of the community. Virginia died
a short time later and, after her burial in an oak grove on his property, Malone dedicated the site as a
perpetual cemetery – the first between the North and South Yamhill Rivers. Early burials followed
frontier practices: settlers nailed together simple board coffins for interment, with formal funeral
services often delayed until a circuit-riding preacher arrived. The cemetery served the local community
for many years before larger public grounds developed.

The 5,000-square-foot plot contains as many as 25 graves, including Madison Malone, who died in 1880
and likely his second wife (Margaret Eaton Malone) and several children. The last known burial
occurred in 1938 (Virginia Malone). Early markers were mostly wooden or temporary; the elements,
time, and occasional vandalism destroyed many. Today, only a few markers remain; the most legible is a
white marble headstone with the inscription “Britannia Hallstead, d 1860, age 29” and a clasped hands
motif and horseshoe decorations. A historic plaque at the site describes the simple burial customs of the
era.

Located at the northeast corner of NE Highway 99W and Grandhaven Street, in front of the Wilco
Farm Store, a brick block wall with a gate provided by Ralph and Frank Wortman in 1967 protects the
Malone Cemetery. Unannexed by the City of McMinnville, the small cemetery remains under Yamhill
County jurisdiction. Surrounded by commercial development, busy highway traffic, stores and a
restaurant, it hides in plain sight, virtually unnoticed by daily passersby. It remains a quiet, reflective
pioneer landmark, symbolizing the early immigration and settlement of the McMinnville area.

For images of the the property, and further details, check out the link below:

Historic Resources Inventory Documentation