General Notes

At the age of 19, Lyman Medaris traveled from Owen County, Grave SiteIndiana to visit with his father Marker, who was living on the Oregon Coast.  Most accounts say that Lyman had only recently arrived from the "east" to be with his father.  On or around January 15, 1916, he started a trek from Samuel's cabin, over the ridge to a small community where he could catch a stage and/or receive mail. Unfortunately, he left at a time when the central Oregon coast was experiencing colder than normal temperatures and heavier than usual snowfall. Caught in an unusually bad snowstorm he missed the trail down the east slope of the ridge and became lost. Lyman perished from exposure on a ridge top near Klickitat Mountain.

A search was mounted, but Lyman's body was not found  until April 16. The searchers buried Lyman where they found him, in a grove of hemlock and fir trees on the ridge top.  The Forest Service later placed 4 concrete markers around the grave and a sign to mark it. Lyman's grave is located in the Siuslaw National Forest just south of Klickitat Mountain. Klickitat Moutain is about 15 miles southeast of the small town of Yachats (pronounced ya-hots).

        The photo at right shows the tree that Lyman was found sitting against. Lyman's name, along with the dates of his death and discovery were carved on this tree by the searchers.  The scar in the bark is all that remains of the carving as it is now unreadable. Two of the stone markers of Lymans grave are visible in the picture. The photo shows the current marker cared for by the Oregon Forestry Department. (Photo's courtesy of Chris Andrew.)