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Wasco County conveys Friend Historic Cemetery to local nonprofit with preservation covenants
Summary
The Wasco County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution and deed to transfer the Friend Historic Cemetery to the Friend Community Club, a local 501(c)(3), subject to perpetual covenants requiring preservation, maintenance and public access.
Wasco County approved a resolution and signed a bargain-and-sale deed on March 18, 2026, transferring the Friend Historic Cemetery to the Friend Community Club, a newly incorporated Oregon nonprofit. County General Counsel Kristen Campbell said the transfer relies on ORS 275.030 and ORS 97.445 and is conditioned on perpetual covenants that the grantee must maintain the site as a historic cemetery and preserve public access.
Campbell told the board the covenants include an explicit reversion provision in case the nonprofit dissolves, a safeguard she described as a built-in "return to sender" clause that gives the county the right to step back in or place the property with another responsible steward. The deed also requires maintenance consistent with Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries standards and permits public visitation and research.
County Commissioner Jeffrey Justesen moved to approve Resolution 26-003 authorizing the chair to execute the deed; Vice Chair Philip Brady seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Bob Schecter of Dufur spoke during the public comment period in support of continued care, saying local volunteers already clear brush to reduce fire risk around the cemetery.
The deed recorded with conditions running in perpetuity that Wasco County and the Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries may enforce, and the transfer is intended to preserve the site while reducing county operational burdens for specialized cemetery maintenance.
