Fern Prairie Cemetery

GPS Coordinates: 45.623568, -122.397879
PLSS Coordinates: DC 44 T02N R03E
Location: Camas, Clark County
Record count: 1,058

Ownership: Clark County Cemetery District #1

Directions: Located north-east of Camas city limits, in the Fern Prairie community, the cemetery sits at the south-east intersection of 3rd St (Route 500) and Robinson Rd.

Background:

Fern Prairie Cemetery is located on the former Lewis VanVleet land claim. VanCleet left Missouri in 1853 and arrived in Oregon City that same year. In Oct 1855 he filed a land claim in Fern Prairie, neighboring the Joel Coffey land claim.

The first recorded burial in the Fern Prairie Cemetery was that of Lewis' future father-in-law, Joel Coffey, who died on Dec. 10 of 1855. Shortly afterwards, on Feb.3 1856 Lewis married Elizabeth Angeline Coffey. The new family called their land claim "Oak Grove Farm". On the funeral records of Alexander Coffey the cemetery burial place is called "Oak Grove Farm Cemetery". As time passed and families began selling parts of their land claims, the VanVleets donated what is now the old section of the Fern Prairie cemetery to the community for use as a community cemetery.

In 1906 Pickney Blair, Frank Butterfield and Thomas Dorman deeded the cemetery to the Fern Prairie Cemetery Association. In August 1946 Fern Prairie Cemetery purchased a parcel from C.F. and Ella Webberley, Dec. 13th of 1977 a second parcel was purchased from Joseph and Neal Webberley and a third parcel was purchased from Daniel C. Gates in May of 1990.

During a special Election in 1954, the Fern Prairie Cemetery Association petitioned to become a County Cemetery District. The ballot measure passed and Fern Prairie Cemetery became Clark County Cemetery District No.1.

Burial Records

• Cemetery District Records, by Interment.net, February 21, 2026, (1,058 records)

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