Odell Cemetery and Ebenezer Chapel
I heard some chatter about this place a few weeks ago. An abandoned and possibly haunted chapel and cemetery, for sure I had to go check it out. It is out near Dayton, Oregon. Before deciding to go I wanted to do some research on it and see what I could learn about it. Unfortunately there isn’t much listed about it anywhere on the internet. Here’s what I’ve found.
The original chapel is said to have been built in the 1860’s and then rebuilt in 1926. The cemetary sits directly behind the chapel. There are a few arguments about how many people are buried there some say it is 49 and others say it is closer to 104. There are lists of the people who have been buried there as well on a few websites. I’ve read that Ebeneezer was one of the pioneers of the area. Early in the 1800’s he was a part of founding the nearby town of Dayton. From there, there isn’t a whole lot of information available.
There are A LOT of stories about this place though. The main one is that Ebeneezer was a polygamist with 7 wives. That one day he snapped and killed all 13 of his children burning them in the fireplace of the chapel. While it is probably doubtful we may never know.
There are other myths as well. A witch was hanged in front of the chapel and haunts it now, someone was killed by a car near it and haunts it now.
The most probable story I’ve seen comes in a comment on another website regarding this place. The person says they are an ancestor to the Odell family and that there wasn’t anything sinister just a group of settlers in the area. They would also appreciate anyone going to see the chapel and cemetery to just be respectful while you are there.
I’ve also read that John Odell was another pioneer here and that he had a wife and 13 kids. Some of them passed as children while some lived on into adulthood.
The chapel is empty inside and unfortunately we couldn’t go in due to a no trespassing sign and a camera. Was still pretty cool looking from the door.
The cemetery is really neglected with some vandalism but probably mostly just time and it not being kept up on. Which I think adds to it’s beauty. It may have been laid out and organized at one point in time but now it is kind of just in sporadic places among the trees and brush and moss. With some of the headstones propped up on the trees.
It was a really beautifully creepy place to see. I didn’t get any weird vibes at all while we were there exploring. Just history of what once was and the people who once lived around here. Check it out sometime. But please be respectful.
I would love to hear from anyone who has some information about the history of this place and the people who founded it.
10 Replies to “Odell Cemetery and Ebenezer Chapel”
I really enjoyed this post! I used to spend a lot of time in graveyards as a kid (don’t ask why…my friends and I were odd) so it brings an odd comfort to me in my adulthood! love the pictures though. Your photography skills are incredible
Thank you so much! I had a weird obsession with graveyards when I was a kid too.
What a suitably spooky cemetery as we head into Halloween! I am not sure if I believe in hauntings myself but they make for fun stories to tell. Lovely pictures and I enjoyed reading your informative post about the history of the cemetery.
Thank you so much!
Great pictures! I expected this to be a really creepy post so I’m glad it isn’t 🙂 I’ve never really been keen to wander around a graveyard but this one looks quite lovely especially with the fall colours!
It’s crazy how legends spread and change over time. Very interesting history lesson. Your pictures are wonderful.
IM really into family history, so I really appreciate cemeteries. And this one is absolutely beautiful.
This is my family’s pioneer cemetery. We have created a website with verified, accurate information regarding the history of the cemetery and chapel as well as biographies of the people known to be buried in the cemetery. We do welcome visitors, but ask that you treat the cemetery with respect. Please stay on the path, do not enter the chapel, and visit only during daylight hours. Due to frequent acts of vandalism and theft, the cemetery is under surveillance by the Yamhill County Sheriff.
The Odell family holds annual cleanups of the cemetery, but we are really restricted as to what we can do in terms of preservation and restoration due to an ownership dispute with the owner of the adjacent land. We hope at some point that the cemetery will be returned to the Odell family so that more can be done to protect our ancestors’ resting place.
For more inflection, visit our website: odellpioneercemetery.com
Hi Katie thank you so much for sharing this! My family would to know when your family’s next clean up event is so that we can help and maybe spread the word.
Someone has done a lot of work to clean this place up. Thank you for that effort.. I grew up near this chapel/cemetery in the 1960’s. Used to visit often. At that time the building and cemetery were so overgrown they were barely visible.