Tag Archives: Sacramento City Cemetery

2012 Northern California Autumn Cemetery Tours & Events

Posted on September 4, 2012 | 5 comments

The Graves family monument, Cypress Lawn

Many cemeteries host tours or fundraisers in the autumn to increase awareness and raise funds for the upkeep of these fragile community treasures. I hope this list inspires you to check around your own area to see what’s being offered. If you find anything intriguing, please post the link in the comments below.

Also, if you find misinformation or broken links in my list below, would you let me know? While I’ve done my best to be accurate, I cut and pasted from a number of sources. Something may have gotten garbled in translation.

Here’s the list:

Wednesday, September 5, 2012
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
First Wednesday presents: Preserving San Jose’s Cemeteries, Honoring Our Past
San Jose’s official City Historian, Judge Paul Bernal, will present highlights of his activities with the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County’s In Grave Danger Gang, which locates lost headstones, restores markers, maintains a historic cemetery, and honors those who came before us. Judge Bernal will also discuss the recent rediscovery of a cemetery on the grounds of the county hospital.
Location: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 550 Schiro Program Room 5th floor, San Jose
Phone: (408) 808-2137
Admission: Free
Event link: http://library.sjsu.edu/events/first-wednesday-presents-preserving-san-jose-s-cemeteries-honoring-our-past

Thursday, September 6, 2012 (repeated September 22 & October 27)
10 a.m. – Noon
National Cemetery Walk
Hear about Medal of Honor recipients, a Union spy, an Indian scout, Buffalo Soldiers, and others buried here at the San Francisco National Cemetery. This one-mile walk has a steep uphill climb. Dress warmly. Rain cancels.
Location: San Francisco National Cemetery, Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco Meet docent Galen Dillman at the cemetery entrance gate, corner of Lincoln Boulevard. and Sheridan Avenue.
Reservations required! Phone: (415) 561-4323.
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.parksconservancy.org/events/park-interp/national-cemetery-walk-3.html

Saturday, September 8, 2012
10 a.m. – Noon. Tour begins promptly at 10 a.m.
Tomb Walk
Please join Professor Michael Svanevik for an all-new walking tour of Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. You will see amazing monuments and grand tombs and hear fascinating tales. Michael Svanevik, a specialist in cemetery lore, is a longtime professor of history at College of San Mateo. Please park inside the cemetery gate and meet in front of the office. Comfortable shoes strongly recommended.
Location: Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma
Reservations required! Phone: (650) 522-7490
Admission: $25 per person, payable to the San Mateo Senior Center.
Event link: http://www.holycrosscemeteries.com/blog/?cat=8

Saturday, September 8, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Exploring Mountain View Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Jane Leroe will highlight the people, architecture, beauty and history of the cemetery.
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, 2012
Tours begin every 20 minutes between 7:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.
Lamplight Tours of Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
Walk at night through Santa Rosa’s oldest cemetery to see and hear all new dramatic portrayals of some of our city’s early settlers. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a flashlight. Tours leave from the McDonald Gate.
Location: Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, Santa Rosa
Reservations required! Phone: (707) 543-3292.
Admission: $30 per person.
Event link: http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/recreationandparks/parks/cityparks/cemetery/Pages/events.aspx

Saturday, September 15, 2012
3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Beyond the Pale Cemetery Tour
Enjoy an evening of dinner, dessert, tours, entertainment, silent auction, historical re-enactments, and a complimentary glass of wine while raising funds for the Plumas Museum.
Location: Quincy Cemetery, Cemetery Hill, Quincy, CA 95971
Reservations required! Phone: (530) 283-6320
Admission: $65 per person.
Event link: http://plumasmuseum.org/events.html

Saturday, September 22, 2012
10 a.m.
Redwood City: Union Cemetery tour
During a docent-led tour, learn how the redwood industry helped the famous people buried in 19th-century Union Cemetery build Redwood City.
Location: Union Cemetery, Woodside Road and El Camino Real, Redwood City.
Phone: (650) 593-1793
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.historysmc.org/walkingtours.html

Saturday, September 22, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Design, Architects, and Architecture
Following the ‘father’ of Landscape Architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, Mountain View Cemetery began in 1864 an interaction with a wide variety of architects and designers, both quick and deceased, which continues to this day. Come see their work and hear their stories. Docent Stafford Buckley is a garden professional and long-time Mountain View Cemetery docent.
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

Friday, October 12 and Saturday, October 13, 2012
Tours at 5:30, 6:15, 7, and 7:45 p.m.
10th Annual Barbara Bull Memorial Cemetery Walk
Sebastopol women’s stories come to life with Cemetery Walk. This year’s vignettes feature stories of a woman aviator, our first librarian, a mayor’s daughter from 1906, Sebastopol’s woman city clerk, a woman who witnessed Queen Victoria’s coronation, and a woman journalist. The event includes dinner, cemetery walk with six performances of historical vignettes, and dessert and coffee at the historic Luther Burbank Experiment Farm Cottage adjacent to Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery.
Location: Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery
Phone: (707) 823-0884 or (707) 829-1757
Admission: $25 for the 5:30 p.m. tours. $30 for the 6:15 p.m., 7 p.m., and 7:45 p.m. tours.
Event link: http://www.wschsgrf.org/

Saturday, October 13, 2012
1:30
Gargoyles, Foo Dogs and More: Interesting And Unusual Monuments at Cypress Lawn
Join other cemetery enthusiasts and lovers of history, art, and nature in discovering the cultural treasures of our beautiful organic outdoor museum and arboretum. Cypress Lawn has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural heritage since its founding in 1892. It is a 200-acre living museum of magnificent funeral art, architecture, and horticulture unlike any other museum in the world, full of the life stories of the men and women whose visions and dreams have shaped the Golden State of California.
Location: Tours start at the Noble Chapel located on the East Gardens of Cypress Lawn left past Cypress Lawn’s 120 year old Archway. Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma.
Phone: (650) 550-8810
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.cypresslawnheritagefoundation.com/events.html#walking

Saturday, October 13, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Exploring Mountain View Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Ruby Long will highlight the people, architecture, beauty and history of the cemetery.
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

Saturday, October 13, 2012
10 a.m.
Children’s Tour of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery
Docent-led tour.
Location: Old City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento
Phone: (916) 448-0811
Admission: free
Event link: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/calendar.htm

Friday, October 19, and Saturday, October 20, 2012
Four tours per night after dark
Lantern Tours of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery
Costumed actors speak for those in the graves at your feet.
Location: Old City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento
Phone: (800) 839-3006
Admission: $30 + handling fee
Event link: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/Flyers/Lantern%20Tour_2012_SEPT.pdf

Sunday, October 21, 2012
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Douglas Keister presents Stories in Stone: New York
Location: Cypress Lawn’s Reception Center, 2nd Floor of the Administration Building, 1370 El Camino Real, Colma, California
Phone: (650) 550-8811
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.cypresslawnheritagefoundation.com/events.html#walking

Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, 2012
Four tours per night after dark
Lantern Tours of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery
Costumed actors speak for those in the graves at your feet.
Location: Old City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento
Phone: (800) 839-3006
Admission: $30 + handling fee
Event link: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/Flyers/Lantern%20Tour_2012_SEPT.pdf

Saturday, October 27, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
UC Berkeley’s Blue and Gold
Docent-led tour by Ron Bachman and Jane Leroe. Come explore the history of UC Berkeley at Mountain View Cemetery. Meet famous founders, faculty, and alums. Go Bears!
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

Saturday, October 27, 2012
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Spooky Tales at Evergreen Cemetery
Get ready for Halloween with this spook-tacular journey through the cemetery. Docents will tell ghost stories from those buried at Evergreen (Don’t worry, it’s nothing too scary), teach you how to make a tombstone rubbing, send you on a spooky tour through the cemetery and much more. Be sure to wear your costume!
Location: Evergreen Cemetery, Evergreen Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
Phone: (831) 429-1964 x 7020
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.santacruzmah.org/event/spooky-tales-at-evergreen-cemetery/

Saturday, October 27, 2012
Noon – 3 p.m.
7th Annual Pumpkin Festival
Celebrate Halloween at our fun-filled pumpkin patch meadow with free pumpkins, activities, and treats for the kids!
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

Saturday, October 27, 2012
1:30 p.m.
The Only in October Tomb Walk with Michael Svanevik
Join other cemetery enthusiasts and lovers of history, art, and nature in discovering the cultural treasures of our beautiful organic outdoor museum and arboretum. Cypress Lawn has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural heritage since its founding in 1892. It is a 200-acre living museum of magnificent funeral art, architecture and horticulture unlike any other museum in the world: a place full of the life stories of the men and women whose visions and dreams have shaped the Golden State of California.
Location: Tours start at the Noble Chapel located on the East Gardens of Cypress Lawn left past Cypress Lawn’s 120 year old Archway. Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma.
Phone: (650) 550-8810
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.cypresslawnheritagefoundation.com/events.html#walking

Sunday, October 28, 2012
Noon
Halloween Tour of Colma’s Cemeteries
We meet at the Colma BART station at noon, then take a spirited bike tour of several massive cemeteries where famous San Franciscans are buried. We’ll visit Woodlawn, Home of Peace and Hills of Eternity, Cypress Lawn, and Holy Cross.
Location: meet at the COLMA BART STATION at 12 noon
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.chriscarlsson.com/events/event/halloween-tour-of-colmas-cemeteries/

Wednesday, October 31, 2012
5 p.m.
Halloween Walking Tour of the Redding Cemetery
Cemeteries are “history books” that give insight regarding important changes that have occurred in the local area and in society as a whole. The Redding Cemetery is the oldest remaining cemetery in Redding and is the last resting place for many important, famous, and notorious people who lived in or traveled through the area. The walks focuses on the history of cemeteries in the U.S.; symbolism found in cemetery traditions and headstones; and the inter-relationship between people buried here. Actually, history at the cemeteries’ site goes back before there was a town of Redding.
Location: Meet at the Corner of Eureka Way and Continental Street.
Admission: Free
Event link: http://shastahistorical.org/events/

Saturday, November 3, 2012
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Walking Tour of Old St. Mary Cemetery
Join the Historical Society for a walking tour.
Location: Meet at St. Joseph Family Center, 7950 Church Street, Gilroy.
Phone: (408) 846-0446 to RSVP.
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.cityofgilroy.org/cityofgilroy/community/community_calendar/calendar_details.aspx?date=11/3/2012&type=0&typeindex=0

Saturday, November 10, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Exploring Mountain View Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Stafford Buckley will highlight the people, architecture, beauty and history of the cemetery.
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

Saturday, November 24, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Symbolism in the Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Sandy Rauch will highlight the architecture and symbolism of the cemetery.
Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 658-2588
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html

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Behind the Scenes at the Old City Cemetery

Posted on July 5, 2012 | 5 comments

M. Parfitt in mourning garb
Photograph by Lori Mattas

M. Parfitt is an artist, writer, collector of exquisitely awful junk, keeper of hair, saver of broken dishes, and hoarder of yellowed newspaper clippings. You may find her wandering down a deserted alley, traipsing through an old cemetery, or peering into an abandoned warehouse.  Her artwork has been featured in exhibits from Connecticut to California, and her essays appeared in every issue of Morbid Curiosity magazine.

Cemetery Travel: How did you get interested in cemeteries in the first place?

M. Parfitt: I’ve always been intrigued by old cemeteries: the monuments, the history, the unknown stories of people buried below.  My family never visited cemeteries, so they always seemed mysterious and off-limits to me.   I still find them mysterious, but they’re definitely not off-limits!

Cemetery Travel: Have cemeteries influenced your artwork?

M. Parfitt: No, surprisingly, they haven’t.  I don’t know why!

Cemetery Travel: You’ve been involved with the Old City Cemetery for years.  What’s your connection to them?

M. Parfitt: In 1993 I was a volunteer at the Sacramento History Museum (which was then called the Discovery Museum).  The volunteer coordinator told me my long hair reminded him of May Woolsey’s braid, which was displayed in the museum with her belongings.

May Woolsey’s grave

May was buried in the Old City Cemetery. The coordinator mentioned that I’d make a good May Woolsey for the cemetery’s Halloween Moonlight Tour.  That was the first I’d heard about tours at the cemetery.  I’d never even been there.  Still, I signed up, played May, and was hooked.  I played her every Halloween for seven years.  I lost touch with the cemetery committee for quite a while, but a couple years ago I decided to attend one of the Saturday morning history tours and was hooked all over again.  I went to as many tours as I could, took notes and photos, and vowed to become a tour guide.  Last year I gave my first tour and I loved it.

Cemetery Travel: Does the cemetery still do the night tours?

M. Parfitt: Yes.  The committee holds evening fundraiser tours several times a year, plus Halloween tours.  I haven’t done an evening tour since 1999, but I’m going to participate in the upcoming “Beer, Babes and Brawls” tour on Friday, July 13th.  Ticket information is here.

Cemetery Travel: Why did you want to be a tour guide and how did you prepare?

M. Parfitt: When I was a kid, my family visited historic sites every summer. I always thought tour guides had the best job in the world.  They spent their workdays surrounded by fascinating antiques and they told amazing stories to visitors.  Some of them wore historic costumes, which was a big draw for me as well.

Many years ago, I tried to get a job as a state park tour guide, but apparently people who have those jobs never give them up, because no position ever opened up.  Being a volunteer tour guide is the next best thing.  In some ways it’s better, because I don’t have to do it; I do it because I want to.

When I decided to offer my services to the cemetery, I knew it’d be difficult because nobody on the committee knew me.  I attended the annual meeting, met a few people, traded e-mail addresses, and kept showing up for those Saturday morning tours with my camera and notebook.  Then I was invited to the annual tour-scheduling meeting, which was a little intimidating because most of the others had already come up with tour ideas and picked the dates they wanted.

I saw a booklet from a tour that had been done years ago and just blurted out, “I’d like to do this tour!” It was called “Survivors of Winter Storms.”  The committee said okay and it was a done deal.

The meeting happened in November and my tour was the following April.  After talking with some other volunteers, I broadened it to “Storm Survivors,” because I found some interesting stories that took place in the summer.

I panicked for five solid months.  I researched and memorized and rehearsed and finally pulled it off without a hitch.  Whew.  I should explain that these tours are never done solo.  Every tour “leader” has a “helper” who tells some stories.  Many tours are done by groups of four or five guides.

Cemetery Travel: Do you have other tours in the works?

M. Parfitt: This year I was the helper for Julianna’s “Symbolism and Victorian Mourning Practices” tour in April.  This Saturday, July 7th, I’m leading a tour called “Close Calls and Calamities.”  I should really say I’m co-leading, since my helper, Jean, is telling as many stories as I am.  We also have an additional guide, Eric, who’ll be telling one tale.  A week after that, I’m telling one story at the evening “Beer, Babes and Brawls” tour.  In September I’ll be helping Eric with his “Sacramento Labor History” tour.  I also participated in a private tour in May.  (Visitors can schedule private tours for a fee.)

Cemetery Travel: Do you have a favorite tombstone?

M. Parfitt: I never leave the cemetery without visiting May Woolsey!   She has a lot of fans.  I always find trinkets left at her headstone: strings of beads, little toys, lipsticks, pencils, ribbons.  It’s very sweet.  I also like the Van Voorhies mausoleum, the zinc Simon headstone, Georgia Fisher’s heavily vandalized terra cotta monument, and the Ross family plot.   There’s a strange brick-and-cinderblock mausoleum for the Golding-Carrington family that’s off by itself in a seldom-visited corner. I’d love to know more about it.

Cemetery Travel: Why should people care about cemeteries?

M. Parfitt: I think it’s a shame when people refuse to visit cemeteries because they’re “spooky.”  That’s silly.  Cemeteries are repositories of history, in the form of life stories; art, in the form of monuments and architecture; and nature, in the form of gardens and landscaping.  They should be preserved, not just out of respect for the dead, but for the benefit of future generations.

Shattuck family monument, with the Golding-Carrington mausoleum in the background.

At the Old City Cemetery, we’re always learning fascinating and unexpected stories about the people buried there.  Their stories would be lost to history if nobody had looked at their headstones and thought, hmm, I should find out who he or she was.  Without a name and a date on a headstone piquing a volunteer’s curiosity, these people would be forgotten.

Cemetery Travel: Anything else you want to mention?

M. Parfitt: A few months ago, I offered to be an administrator for the cemetery’s Facebook page.  It’s fun to see the “likes” go up, up, up.  It’s also fun and challenging to come up with exciting announcements about upcoming tours.  I take photos at tours and post them on the Facebook page so visitors can see themselves (or see what they missed). I really try to be a cheerleader for the cemetery.  I want everyone to know what a fabulous treasure we have right here in Sacramento!

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Cemetery of the Week #66: Sacramento City Cemetery

Posted on July 4, 2012 | 11 comments

Old City Cemetery muse

a.k.a. Old City Cemetery
1000 Broadway
Sacramento, California 95818
Telephone: (916) 448-0811
Founded: December 1849
Size: 44 acres
Number of interments: more than 25,000
Open: Summer hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
Due to city budget constraints, the City Cemetery will be closed every Wednesday and Thursday until further notice.

Approximately 90 miles northeast of San Francisco, Sacramento became capitol of California in 1854.  More recently, Sacramento hosted governors Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Prior to that, Sacramento became the first California boomtown in 1849. The former frontier outpost benefitted immensely as the last provisioning point for the forty-niners on their way up to the Sierra Gold Fields. Between 1848 and 1853, over half a million people passed through Sacramento on the way to seek their fortunes.

Sacramento City Cemetery was founded by a city ordinance in December 1849 to be a “public grave yard” unaffiliated with any religious organization. It wasn’t the first public graveyard in town: New Helvetia Cemetery, now Sutter Middle School, preceded it. Still, the Old City Cemetery remains as the oldest original (non-rebuilt) historical site in Sacramento.

Sacramento mourner

It’s an incredibly beautiful place. Beneath the arching branches of oaks and the fronts of palms, white marble markers stand against the flawless blue Californian sky. Ornamentation varies from Egyptian Revival to little lambs, from hands clutching each other throughout eternity to angels and muses standing upright against their grief. The Grand Army of the Republic has a noble monument. Enormous antique rosebushes sparkle with vivid blossoms. Squirrels chase over the gravestones, followed by low-slinking cats.

Historical markers stand before several of the plots, describing the lives and times of Sacramento’s most permanent residents. Senators, governors, and a Supreme Court Justice share the ground with 2000 pioneers from around the globe. Among the historic dead lies Mark Hopkins, one of the men responsible fro the transcontinental railroad. His monument cost $80,000 in 1879. John Sutter Jr. was the son of the man on whose property gold was discovered. The Tilden family descended from settlers who came over on the Mayflower. The son of Alexander Hamilton was buried in three places before finally coming to rest in the Sacramento City Cemetery. 600 Sacramentans buried in a mass grave during the cholera epidemic of 1850 testify to the hardships of pioneer life.

The Old City Cemetery Committee formed in 1987 to combat neglect in the cemetery and repair broken tombstones. Volunteers continue to research the cemetery, raise funds for repair, tend the garden plots, and lead tours. Their extensive tour schedule is here.  This weekend’s tour focuses on Close Calls and Calamities. The theme of next week’s evening fundraiser is Beer, Babes, and Brawls, for an audience 21 and over, since it includes a beer-tasting. A .pdf flyer is here.

Useful links:

The Old City Cemetery homepage

Map of the cemetery

The Old City Cemetery Facebook page

California Native Plant Demonstration Garden in the cemetery

Cemetery Registry page on the cemetery

Other Old City Cemetery links on Cemetery Travel:

My visit to Cora’s grave

Behind the Scenes at the Old City Cemetery

Child’s grave in Sacramento

 

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