Oregon’s ‘forgotten souls’ by the numbers
Cremated and forgotten, their remains became a symbol of Oregon’s — and the nation’s — dark history of treating the mentally ill. A two-year research effort is shining a light on 3,500 people whose ashes were left at the Oregon State Hospital.
• Urns present: 3,447.
• Remains claimed since 2005: 183.
• Native Americans to be repatriated: 21.
• Oldest ashes present: Date of death Jan. 13, 1914.
• Most recent ashes present: Date of death June 22, 1971.
• Babies: 6.
• Veterans: 110.
• Potentially eligible for military burial: 88.
• Born in 48 states, plus the District of Columbia. Most common states: Oregon, 539; Illinois, 165; Iowa, 157.
• Born in 44 foreign countries. Most common countries: Sweden, 131; Germany, 129; Finland, 116.
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List of unclaimed remains:
SALEM, Ore. — They were dubbed the “forgotten souls,” the cremated remains of thousands who came through the doors of Oregon’s state mental hospital, died there, and whose ashes were abandoned inside 3,500 copper urns.
Discovered a decade ago at the decrepit Oregon State Hospital, where “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was filmed, the remains became a symbol of the state’s — and the nation’s — dark history of treating the mentally ill.
A research effort to unearth the stories of those who moved through the hospital’s halls, and to reunite the remains with surviving relatives, takes center stage today as officials dedicate a memorial to those once-forgotten patients.