One of the things that I am absolutely fascinated by is the way cities are built up over their dead. In long-lived cities like Rome or Paris or London, it’s inevitable that cemeteries from the past have been built over and forgotten. In San Francisco, which isn’t even 250 years old, the shortness of memory is more surprising.
Journalist Beth Winegarner shares my obsession with cemeteries. Her newest book is “San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History,” which comes out today. In the book, she looks into the cemeteries that used to lie beneath the Presidio Parade Ground, the Asian Art Museum, what’s now a Target, and much more.
I asked her to tell us about it.
“San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History”
by Beth Winegarner
San Francisco is famous for many things: tech companies like Twitter and Uber, the cacophony of sea lions at Pier 39, the Painted Ladies houses, major earthquakes. It’s also known, especially among locals, for not having any cemeteries.
But what if I told you that settlers established nearly 30 cemeteries in San Francisco between the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the 1770s and 1901, when city leaders banned any new burials within city limits — and that, in the process of moving 150,000 graves to Colma in the early 20th century, tens of thousands of graves were left behind?
My new book, “San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History” traces the history of these burial grounds, from one at Mission Dolores where headstones still mark the grounds, to a pet cemetery hidden beneath a freeway overpass in San Francisco’s Presidio. It includes many graveyards where bodies still rest beneath the ground while residents, workers, and tourists unknowingly pass over them every day.
Writing is one of my favorite ways to connect with the history of a place, and with the place itself. In my first book, “Sacred Sonoma,” I wrote about unusual places in Sonoma County, in Northern California: Locations where people reported ineffable (or chilling) experiences, or hauntings. I dug into local history, including indigenous and settler history, and created a kind of travel guide to these sites, which remains popular to this day.
After almost 20 years living in San Francisco, I felt like I wanted to get to know this place better, and a friend connected me with an amazing digital archive of local newspapers. Out of curiosity I looked for articles about San Francisco’s cemeteries, and began to discover just how many there were, how badly mismanaged they were in the early years of the city, and how many were forgotten.
As San Francisco and its population expanded, graveyards were pushed farther and farther out from the city center. And with so many people coming and going, especially after the Gold Rush, the city had very little institutional memory. A cemetery would be decommissioned, its grave markers (usually wood) removed and sometimes its burials relocated, only to be rediscovered when a new generation wanted to dig sewer lines or build something. Many crews fled job sites because of what they found beneath the soil.
After San Francisco banned burials, residents voted to move the graveyards south to a small town just outside city limits. The majority of burials, probably about 75%, were relocated, but about 25% remain in place. They’re beneath the Lincoln Park Golf Course, the Legion of Honor Museum, the Asian Art Museum, the University of San Francisco, and residential neighborhoods of the Golden Gate Park panhandle, among others.
I became fascinated by these discoveries, and moved by the existence of so many abandoned dead. Once I started learning, I couldn’t help but write, in the hope of sharing this history with others and remembering what so many people had forgotten. It’s helped me understand San Francisco better, and I hope readers find meaning in it, too.
“San Francisco’s Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History” by Beth Winegarner (trade paperback, 172 pages, 60 photographs), with a foreword by Roberto Lovato, author of “Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs and the Revolution in the Americas,” is being published by The History Press on August 28, 2023. You can order a copy from Amazon or directly from The History Press.
To find out more and to see dates for local and online events in connection with the book, click here.
You can also follow Beth on Instagram, where she’s posting images of the old cemeteries.
I am excited to announce that Beth will chat about all things cemeteries with me on October 27 at the San Francisco Columbarium: RSVP here.
San Francisco National Cemetery 1 Lincoln Boulevard, Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco, California 94129
Telephone: (650) 589-7737 or 1646 Founded: 1846 First known burial: 1854 Size: 28.34 acres Number of interments: 30,000 Open: Daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Of the two official graveyards remaining in San Francisco, one is a military cemetery with a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The cemetery, part of the 1480-acre Presidio, provides a link to the earliest European history of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1776, the Spanish founded a garrison here to guard the mouth of San Francisco Bay.
In 1922, 38 skeletons—believed to be the remains of Spanish conquistadors—were discovered in an isolated area of the Presidio. The U.S. Army transferred them to a mass grave inside its post cemetery.
In fact, the American history of the Presidio began in1846—four years before California became a state—when the U.S. Army took it over from Mexico. The Presidio became a Union outpost to prevent Confederate seizure of the gold fields during the Civil War. In the 1870s, the Presidio served as a staging center for the Indian Wars. Later, the Sixth Army used it as their headquarters as they fought World War II in the Pacific.
Looking toward the San Francisco Bay at the Visitor Center
The original American post cemetery covered nine and a half acres. In 1851, the hillside on which the graveyard stood was all sand dune and scrub. Prior to the discovery of marble in the Sierras, graves were only marked with wood. Galen Dillman of the National Parks Conservancy told me, “The wind would come up in a storm and send headboards flying all over the place.” Consequently, most bodies lost their identification. Dillman said, “The Army re-interred those that they’d lost track of, plus the original Indian, Spanish, and Mexican burial grounds, in front of the visitor center.” Now a monument to the unknowns labels the mass grave, saluting the valiant dead of past conflicts.
In 1866, Congress established six all-Black regiments to patrol the remote western frontier and fight in the Indian Wars. Although the pay was only $13 a month, many African Americans enlisted because the Army “offered more dignity than typically could be attained in civilian life,” according to the Park Service brochure. Legend has it that these soldiers became known as Buffalo Soldiers because Native Americans thought their curly dark hair resembled a buffalo’s coat. 450 men from the all-Black units are buried inthe San Francisco National Cemetery. Some graves are proudly labeled “Buffalo Soldier.”
In 1884, by order of Lieutenant General Sheridan, the Presidio’s post cemetery became the first national cemetery on the West Coast. The graveyard expanded as needed until it now covers almost thirty acres.
After its rise in status, a lot of the burials at the San Francisco National Cemetery came from re-interments. As the U.S. Army closed its forts in the west, they refused to leave their dead behind. Also, when San Francisco evicted its public cemeteries early in the 20th century, any military personnel unclaimed by their families were brought to the Presidio.
Despite its status as closed since 1992, burials continue in the San Francisco National Cemetery.
Looking past the headstones at Alcatraz Island
Among those buried in the Presidio is Archie Williams. In 1936, Williams ran the 400-meter at the Berlin Olympics, winning the gold medal. Adolf Hitler snubbed Williams and his teammate Jesse Owens, refusing to shake their hands because they were African American.
Upon graduation from the University of California in 1938, Archie Williams had trouble finding work because, Dillman explained, there was so little call for black engineers. Williams became interested in flying and entered the Tuskegee Institute. The quota system of the time guaranteed that if one hundred white pilots graduated from flight school, only ten black pilots could graduate from Tuskegee. Williams made the cut and flew in World War II and Korea.
After his retirement from the Air Force, Williams taught high school mathematics in San Anselmo, not far from San Francisco.
Toward the end of our tour, Dillman pointed out one final trailblazer. The San Francisco National Cemetery is the resting place of Congressman Philip Burton, who wrote legislation to create the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The 75,500-acre national park stretches from south of the city in the San Francisco Watershed (which includes the lakes resting atop the San Andreas Fault) north across the Golden Gate past Point Reyes Station and along Tomales Bay. The park spans redwood forests, beaches, marshes, and grassy hillside meadows. Hawks, deer, and seabirds live there, along with an occasional mountain lion, bobcat, and eagle. Whales visit. The park, a haven for city dwellers, has thirteen million visitors a year.
A clause in Burton’s bill said that if the Army ever pulled out of the Presidio, the land would be turned over to the National Park Service. When the bill passed into law in 1972, the Army claimed it would never leave. However, in 1989, budget measures closed the base. Transfer to the Park Service occurred in 1994.
An island in the midst of parkland, the National Cemetery itself does not belong to the Park Service. It continues to be overseen by the Department of Veteran Affairs. Still, if you’re looking to hear a few stories in a peaceful green oasis, I encourage you to check out the National Park Conservancy’s web site. Its calendar will let you know when you can link up with Galen Dillman’s tour. Ask him to tell you about the Buffalo Soldiers, the Union Army’s female spy, and the daring rescue from the submarine. He brings those stories to life.
Dillman’s next tour is scheduled for March 16, 2013 from 10 a.m to noon.
Useful links: History of the San Francisco National Cemetery
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 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
Today is the 105th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It’s a good day to celebrate the beauty of the city that I love.
San Francisco National Cemetery
This was taken last November in the San Francisco National Cemetery. I’d been sick for weeks, but on Veterans Day, I finally felt well enough to take a walk in the sunshine. San Francisco obliged with a beautiful fall day.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever hiked to the top of the graveyard before, but as I strolled back down toward the bay, I was struck by the martial precision of the lines of headstones climbing over the curves of the hills. San Francisco National Cemetery is an unusual military cemetery in that it contains a number of normal tombstones amongst the standard government-issue markers. On this side of the cemetery, however, identical stones march in parallel ranks, a visual monument recalling the soldiers buried below.
Local historian Michael Svanevik will talk about the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio (now a National Park) on Sunday, March 20 at 2 pm. The lecture is called “Burial on a Federal Reservation: San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio.”
The free lecture is part of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park’s monthly educational series. Light refreshments will be served.
Cypress Lawn’s Reception Center
2nd Floor, Administration Building
1370 El Camino Real, Colma, California
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One of the things that I am absolutely fascinated by is the way cities are built up over their dead. In long-lived cities like Rome or Paris or London, it’s inevitable that cemeteries from the past have been built over and forgotten. In San Francisco, which isn’t even 250 years old, the shortness of memory is more surprising.
San Francisco is famous for many things: tech companies like Twitter and Uber, the cacophony of sea lions at Pier 39, the Painted Ladies houses, major earthquakes. It’s also known, especially among locals, for not having any cemeteries. 
