Sacramento Historic City Cemetery

Sacramento Historic City Cemetery
Sacramento City Cemetery in 1866
Location 1000 Broadway, Sacramento, California
Coordinates 38°33′44″N 121°30′07″W / 38.56222°N 121.50194°W / 38.56222; -121.50194Coordinates: 38°33′44″N 121°30′07″W / 38.56222°N 121.50194°W / 38.56222; -121.50194
Built 1849
Architectural style Victorian Garden style
NRHP Reference # 14000889 [2]
CHISL # 566[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP 5 November 2014
Designated CHISL 5 May 1957
Gravestones in Old City Cemetery, 2012
Graves of the Edwin B. Crocker family
View from the northeast corner of the cemetery
The massive Mark Hopkins, Jr. grave

The Sacramento Historic City Cemetery (or Old City Cemetery), located at 1000 Broadway, at 10th Street, is the oldest existing cemetery in Sacramento, California. The cemetery is located at the highest point in Sacramento. It was designed to resemble a Victorian garden and sections that are not located in level areas are surrounded by brick or concrete retaining walls to create level terraces.[3] The cemetery grounds are noted for their roses which are said to be among the finest in California.[4]

History

The cemetery was established in 1849 when Sacramento founder John Augustus Sutter, Jr. donated 10 acres (4.0 ha) to the city for this purpose.[5] The grounds were landscaped in the Victorian Garden style popular at the time. In 1850, 600 victims of the Cholera epidemic that swept the city were buried in mass graves in City Cemetery. The remainder of the 800 to 1000 victims claimed by the epidemic were buried in the nearby New Helvetia Cemetery, also in mass graves. Because the New Helvetia Cemetery was prone to flooding, these graves were later transferred to City Cemetery. In 1852, a monument was erected to those who died. Howerer the exact location of either burial plot is not known.[6]

In 1856, the city engaged a cemetery superintendent and began to plan the grounds. In 1857, the gatehouse and bell tower were constructed. These were demolished in 1949 during the widening of Broadway.[4]

Several fraternal groups purchased sections for their members including the Masons (1859), Odd Fellows (1861) and the Sacramento Pioneers Association (1862). The city set aside a section for volunteer firemen in 1858 and members of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1878.

The cemetery continued to acquire additional land through 1880 when Margaret Crocker, widow of Edwin B. Crocker, donated 23 acres (9.3 ha) to expand the grounds to 60 acres (24 ha) total.[4]

It was declared a State Historic Landmark on May 5, 1957 by the State Historical Landmarks Commission.[1]

The City of Sacramento owns the cemetery, which today encompasses 44 acres (18 ha). In 1986, a group of residents were concerned by the lack of maintenance and ongoing vandalism and formed the Old City Cemetery Committee. In 1987, the committee became part of the Sacramento County Historical Society and in 2003, it became an independent organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic site.[7]

The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[2]

Notable burials

These are some of the notable people interred in the cemetery:[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "California Office of Historic Preservation - Sacramento County". California State Parks. 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Listings for 11/03/14 through 11/07/14". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Old City Cemetery Committee, Inc., Sacramento, California". Old City Cemetery Committee, Inc. 2005. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Royston, Hanamoto, Alley & Abey, Landscape Architects and Planners (December 11, 2007). "Sacramento Historic Cemetery Master Plan" (PDF). Old City Cemetery, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Sutter, John A., Jr. & Ottley, Allan R. (Ed.). Statement: Regarding Early California Experiences. Sacramento Book Collectors Club. 1943.
  6. ↑ "City Cemetery History". Old City Cemetery Committee, Inc. 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  7. 1 2 Self Guided Tour (PDF). Historic City Cemetery, Inc. January 2006. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Burial Index" (PDF). Old City Cemetery Committee. 2005. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Burch, John Chilton". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Archives Photo Gallery". Old City Cemetery Committee, Inc. 2005. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Clunie, Thomas Jefferson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  12. 1 2 Garner, Kati (November 14, 2011). "Courageous Veterans of Old City Cemetery". Sacramento Press (Sacramento, California). Archived from the original on September 20, 2012.
  13. ↑ "California Governor William Irwin". National Governors Association. 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Some heroes of Sacramento cemetery tour wore petticoats". The Sacramento Bee. July 3, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.

External links

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