Heritage Sites

 This small Weston Family Cemetery, or burial ground, is located within the confines of the Champoeg State Park, which is near Butteville, Oregon. (Pronounced Sham-pooee, after a Native American name). David Weston came to OR in what some claim to be the first wagon train to travel the later named Oregon Trail, in 1842, and that the wagon train was only preceded to OR by mountain men, fur trappers, and a few missionaries to the Indian people. See notes on David Weston’s page that show that David was in the second wagon train to come to OR, not the first. When a Provisional Government was established a few years later David Weston made a homestead claim, which included some of the now, Champoeg State Park and
he established a small burial ground on their farm for their family, which is near the southeast corner of the Park. Members of the family placed this lone gravestone here. It includes the names of all the known burials in this small family cemetery dating from the mid 1800’s up to 1896 at the time of the last burial here. Just ahead is a trail that leads up to this cemetery. You turn right there and you can go back down to the main part of the Champoeg State Park that this little cemetery is located in. The last member of the family who
owned part of the farm that David Weston had, sold all the remaining land, except for just a half acre of land here that this cemetery is on. In later years the family deeded the ground this cemetery sits on to the State of OR for its upkeep.