The Sacramento Old City Cemetery is perhaps the most elegant and beautiful historic Victorian burial ground of its time. In fact its probably at the top of my list as far as most beautiful graveyards visited in my journeys here out west particularly in the state of California. The Cemetery was established in 1849 when John Augustus Sutter, Jr. donated 10 acres of land to the City of Sacramento whom he founded. The grounds were to be landscaped with rose gardens and to have a Victorian Style appearance. I believe that John had this cemetery erected because the small private one established near Sutter's Fort flooded allot due to the rising waters of the American River therefore it was always underwater so a new burial ground would have to be built.  Despite the new cemetery being built it still was prone to some flooded as the Sacramento Valley is at sea level therefore your going to see allot of walls and terraces in Old City Cemetery to repel water that may rise from flooding which was common in the 1800's here.

The cemetery could not have came any sooner when Asiatic Cholera swept through the Sacramento area in 1850 killing at least 800 to 1000 residents all within a few weeks. Most feel that a ship carrying passengers from the New World docked in the port of Sacramento emerged people were collapsing on the wharf. You can only imagine back then they had no wait to quarantine such epidemics therefore diseases spread like wildfire. This incident probably led to the construction of a quarantine station on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay so that emigrants could be monitored for spreading or carrying any epidemics before they could be cleared to explore the west during the gold rush!

People were very paranoid of also getting sick therefore they begin immediately to bury the deceased in mass graves I read that 600 people were buried in a mass grave in old City Cemetery while the remainder were buried nearby in the New Helvetia Cemetery also in mass graves.  I believe that the Sutter's Fort and New Helvetia Cemetery are the same therefore eventually all the cholera interments would be transferred eventually to Old City Cemetery where in 1852 a monument would be erected. Nobody knows where the mass graves are today but they do exist not to far from the monument. Many folks claim that the haunting's which transpire in Old City Cemetery are actually the ghosts of those pioneers who were buried in mass graves who will never be remembered due to the epidemic panic. 

The epidemic in fact was so terrible that 17 of the 48 doctors who worked the front lines ended up in these mass graves. The Cholera did not offer special favors to any resident of Sacramento at the time and people simply just died from this merciless epidemic. Cholera definitely claimed the lives of the elderly and young children who were piled up in a mass grave today completely forgotten because nobody really knows where it is. More then likely the mass grave will never be found because when the cemetery was expanded earth was moved around to create small hills to make room for new interments and keep them above the flood zone. But experts theorize that the mass graves may be in one of the war sections of the cemetery such as the Veterans, Spanish- American War or Grand Army Of The Republic areas of this cemetery. 

The Sacramento valley and the city itself may not have grown to the size it did if it were not for Jim Marshall's 1848 gold discovery at Coloma California. Once gold was discovered it became the focal point of the gold rush thousands of emigrants and pioneers flooded the area. It was one of the greatest human migrations in history as we know it and Sacramento was merely a gateway to the Northern Mines. Most pioneers would stop in Sacramento before journeying up in the Sierra Nevada's in search of the gold. Many of those pioneers went on to have founded many towns, mining camps and some went on to be very wealthy even serving government office. For some the trek up into the mountains was extremely dangerous but so was living in Sacramento which was prone to epidemics, diseases, flooding and death. Many pioneers never even made it out of the city and in the mid 1800's the only sign of civilization would be Sutters Fort which served as a base camp for the earliest white men who came to this area. 

The cemetery would continue to grow all the way up until about 1880 and it had a superintendent that helped designed the grounds in 1856. By 1857 a bell tower and gate house were even constructed however were demolished when Broadway was widened in 1949. Before it was called Old City Cemetery this burial ground was just known as the "Public Graveyard". Several fraternal groups purchased various sections of it such as the Volunteer firemen 1858, Masons in 1859, Odd Fellows in 1861, Sacramento Pioneers Association 1862, Grand Army Of The Republic 1878 and the Order Of Redman. Many of the firefighters buried here died fighting fires in Sacramento and you can see the old fire bell at the entrance to this section today. Some of the first firefighters in the state of California were born in Sacramento as the first hook and ladder was found here. The first fire department was established in Sacramento therefore
it really truly is a magnificent historic site among the many others found in this cemetery.

I read also that in 1861 a huge flood had struck the Sacramento area afterall floods were very common back in the 1800's here. You did not have proper drainage and winters in the mountains were so brutal in the high sierras. So when the snow melted and the Spring rains came flooding was horrible near the cemetery. As a matter in fact during some of those floods the residents of Sacramento pitched tents on a hill found in Old City Cemetery. In 1861 hundreds of tents were spotted on top of the hills found in Old City Cemetery among the tombstones. The high point found in Old City is said to actually be one of the highest elevations in the city of Sacramento therefore it was a place that not only the dearly departed could be buried but also a place where the cities early residents could seek out refuge and use it for a safe haven.

Margaret Crocker donated the finale acreage on the hill to become part of the cemetery around 1880. This would expand Old City Cemetery to about 60 acres when she gave away 23 acres of land to be used for future burials. Mrs Crocker had a Greenhouse and Bell Observatory which overlooked the cemetery on a hill which today is now Broadway. But without her generous donation their would not be 25,000 interments found in Old City when you think about it.  Sadly where many bodies were laid to rest eventually became paved city streets so many graves over the years been exhumed and relocated as the cemetery shrank due to the growth of the city.  I have been told that the cemetery today sits at about 28 acres while other sources state about 44 acres no matter the size the fact is that as the cemetery became reduced it also filled up fast therefore you will notice that the graves are all very close to one another because space here was very scarce. When the Sutter Junior High School was built now the Sutter Middle School many graves were exhumed and moved to Old City and East Lawn Memorial Park Cemeteries. If you were to walk down the sidewalk on Alhambra Blvd. their is a historic marker which talks about this. Which raises the question of such locations possibly being haunted that were built over parts of the cemetery which has led to reduction! 

Many notable interments are found here such as Captain John A Sutter. Jr who is found buried near the front gates that lead into the cemetery who is the founder of Sacramento. Then you have a lawyer and art collector E.B. Crocker, Mark Hopkins a storekeeper and railroad tycoon for the Central Pacific RR, William Stephen Hamilton the son of Alexander Hamilton, Three California Governments, various early Mayors of Sacramento and even survivors of the Donner Party. Over 25,000 pioneers, immigrants and their family's are buried in Old City Cemetery. These people buried in this cemetery helped shape the west as you know it today especially in the Sacramento Valley which today boast many large cities and over 11 million people who live in it. Some of these people lived in some of the earliest Gold Rush towns found throughout Nevada and California. Some of those towns were Virginia City, Mormon Island at Folsom Lake, Old Hangtown aka Placerville, Sierra City, Salmon Falls, Coloma and so many more that I have been to which are now mere ghost towns. 

Unfortunately as the cemetery became overcrowded many of the residents who came from families who were long dead were not buried here because their simply was not enough room. The city was in charge of the cemetery but they were neglecting it for decades or not applying funding to keep it maintained. Allot of people began disrespecting this burial ground because it was no longer in use. While many of the residents were descendents of pioneers buried here their were many new folks pouring into the city who toppled and vandalized many of the monuments found here. If you walk around the cemetery you can clearly see some statues are missing heads other gravestones are in pieces. For me being a history buff you can only imagine how sad this is to bare witness to. This is a graveyard that not only has some of the finest rose gardens in the state of California but most of the gravestones are works of art. Their is allot of statues, beautifully carved epitaphs and elaborate monuments. Many of the gravestones derive from prominent citizens who were railroad tycoons, politicians, business owners, authors and founders even. Therefore such citizens had allot of money to invest in family crypts and tombs often found throughout this cemetery. 

In 1957 the cemetery became a State Historic Landmark and in 2014 was listed on the National Register Of Historic Places. The cemetery is really one of the oldest graveyards in the city of Sacramento and probably the county since 1849 when burials begin.  The Old City Cemetery Committee was organized in 1986 by a group of local concerned citizens were appalled by the amount of vandalism that was transpiring here. That same group in 1987 became a committee of the Sacramento County Historical Society. Eventually in 2002 a new nonprofit support group was formed also known as the Old Cemetery Committee Inc. who been recognized by the IRS as a tax exempt corporation. They are responsible for the restoration, beautification and preservation of this historic graveyard. They have been working diligently to plant trees, flowers, bushes and creating three garden areas. The Gold Rush era rose gardens planted in the Bruner and Cadwalder sections, Perennial Plants in the Hamilton Square section area and of course Native Plants of California in the Veterans section. When you roam this cemetery you will not feel like you are in the big city their is allot of nature here wild flowers of the high sierras, gardens, ivy, 200 year old trees, squirrels, variety of bird life, roses and diverse plant life. Its kind of a world away from a world and so I feel so honored to be able to share this haunted location with our viewers.

The only reason vandalism stopped is that today the cemetery is locked up at sundown and for those that are thinking about sneaking in just know they have security which walks around the cemetery all night long. I know because I made friends with one of the guards that works here and he filled us in a little. I am also sure he has no shortage of ghost stories or strange happenings he probably experienced on his nightly patrols throughout the various sections. Now allot of people might be bummed I know as a ghostbuster myself I enjoy sometimes visited historic creepy graveyards at night but all is not lost Old City Cemetery offers night lantern tours and other intriguing events throughout the year if you check out their website at Old City Cemetery.  I think that they have done a great job at preserving Old City Cemetery and their efforts have quite considering decreased vandalism here. By offering night tours it still allows others to enjoy this location in the evening hours safely where everyone is together and various historic sites remain protected. 

Now I would like to talk a bit about some of the ghost stories associated with this cemetery. As a matter in fact Old City Cemetery is said to be the most haunted site in all of Sacramento. The most famous story is about the ghost of May Woolsey who was a 12 year old girl who died in 1879 from Encephalitis. May's mother tried to contact various mediums and when she claimed that her daughter May contacted her from the other side to let them know she was not dead but in spirit waiting for her parents in the spirit world. May's parents kept all her toys including her diary in a trunk sealing it in a wall.  When the home was purchased the new owners were doing renovations when they discovered the trunk and now all her things can be found in the Sacramento Museum. People often see the ghost of May playing around her grave site or within the cemetery and sometimes even at her former home. People say her ghosts emanates with positive energy. If you check the notable interments section on our site you can see May Woolsey's Gravesite along with some more in depth history and various toys that been placed around her tombstone. 

Their are other smaller less known ghost stories as well including people seeing the ghost of a firefighter who died tragically often seen by the main gates waving to visitors, black pit bull who vanishes despite no animals being allowed in the cemetery, ghostly cat and even the apparitions of a couple dressed in black dressed nicely that appear to be searching for their graves. People often see shadows in the cemetery other times what someone may get a glimpse of what they thought was an apparition simply because they vanished before their eyes.  Allot of the haunting's may derive from those buried in the mass graves from the Cholera Epidemic. Lets face it many of those buried in these mass graves names were lost forever. Parents who passed on left children before as orphans its possible they are still searching for there loved ones. Back in Sacramentos earliest days the region was prone to such epidemics but also floods and fires which also played a huge role in the death of many of the people found in Old City Cemetery.

Their is a railroad engineer hero who went by the name of William Brown who saved hundreds of lives by uncoupling a passenger train from the engine. He was killed when the engine plunged into Ferry Wharf due to the wrong switch being thrown. When they pulled the engine out of the wharf his hands were still clutching the controls as if he was trying to stop the engine. When people see his ghost its often by his grave dressed in a very nice black suit. Its possible that due to his life being cut short because of a simple mistake that he is restless. Then their are other ghost stories about an 8 year old girl who haunts her grave that died tragically and even the entity of Case Jones an African American man who also stands near his grave. No matter what you believe the cemetery has over a century of haunts and more then often the stories are very similar of the ghosts that are sighted here over those years. Thus, making Old City Cemetery a designated haunted site that all of you can enjoy at anytime along with this beautiful cemeteries history.

Below I have posted a map to various points of interest found within the cemetery and notable burials just in case our viewers decide they want to visit this beautiful Victorian Graveyard. Our website is not just about educating others about the history and the paranormal but it also serves to motivate others to visit these locations enjoying them like we did. This is one of my favorite cemeteries in California and we will be working with it one to two more times. Their are over 25,000 interments found here with thousands of graves with beautifully written epitaphs. You could go here numerous times and always see something new. I also found allot of rare flowers growing here sometimes you might get a solo flower that is not found anywhere else near a gravestone or monument. Other times the walkways are lined with pink, purple or red flower petals by blooming trees that provide shade over many of the gravesites as you can tell from our photos. I adore this place I am so not a city guy but if I were to chill in the big city id think of Old City Cemetery as my stomping grounds. What is their not to love on one end of the spectrum you have allot of wild western historic figures buried here each one with a story to tell and on the other end the ghosts of the past whom haunt this Victorian Cemetery!

Copyright By 

Lord Rick aka AngelOfThyNight
Founder
Author, Talk Show Host, Paranormal Investigator & Producer

Historic City Cemetery
Points of Interest

1.  John A. Sutter, Jr.               1826‑1897
Although his father built the fort and established an empire called New Helvetia, the credit for planning and founding the city of Sacramento in 1848 goes to John Jr. A disagreement with his father over the town would cause him to leave in 1850. He died in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1897.

2.  Hardin Bigelow               1809‑1850
Arriving in San Francisco in February of 1849 on the Mail Steamer "California," his was the first ship to reach California from the East Coast bringing miners to the Gold Fields. Bigelow is credited with building Sacramento's first levee system and becoming its first elected mayor in 1850.

3.  Newton Booth               1825‑1892
Lawyer, merchant, politician. This native of Indiana became one of our state's most artful statesmen. He was elected State Senator in 1862, California's eleventh governor in 1872, and United States Senator in 1873. His business firm, Booth & Company, was located on Front Street, between J and K.

4.  General George Wright               1801‑1865
A graduate of West Point in 1822, his battlefield gallantry earned him commendations; from the Seminole War in Florida, to the Mexican War, to the Indian Campaigns in the Pacific Northwest. His loyalty to the Union also earned him President Lincoln's appointment as Military Commander of the entire Pacific Coast during the Civil War.

5.  Old Wooden Headboard               Circa 1876
One of the few remaining examples of carved headboards left in City Cemetery. Wood, very plentiful and far less costly, was an alternative to expensive marble and granite stones At one time there were thousands of headboards in the cemetery. Today, only a few have survived.

6.  Edwin Bryant Crocker               1818‑1875
Lawyer, politician, patron of the arts. Although remembered primarily for his passion for art and building the finest art gallery west of the Mississippi, he was also a Justice on California's State Supreme Court (1863) and Chief Counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad Company (1864‑1869).

7.  High Point in The Cemetery
The highest point in this cemetery may also be the highest elevation in Sacramento. During the flood of 1861 the cemetery served as a safe haven from high waters. Hundreds of tents were described as being visible on its hills.

8.  Jesse Haycock               ‑1850
Arriving here in 1849, Haycock, a native of Boston, Massachusetts , was a victim of the cholera epidemic that claimed nearly a thousand lives in Sacramento in 1850. He died October 26.

9.  Mark Hopkins               1815‑1878
A Forty-Niner, one of railroad's legendary "Big Four" and Treasurer of the Central Pacific Railroad is entombed in this magnificent 350 ton granite structure that dominates the Pioneer Section. He died March 29,1878, and was buried in San Francisco until the completion of his tomb in 1880.

10.  Albert Maver Winn               1810‑1883
Elected to Sacramento's first City Council in 1849 and selected as its President, he was ex-officio the first mayor of Sacramento. But unlike Bigelow, he was not elected directly to the office. He would later (1875) found the Native Sons of the Golden West. His monument is the cemetery's tallest.

11.  William Stephen Hamilton               1797‑1850
The Youngest son of Alexander Hamilton, first Treasurer of the United States. He came to California in 1849 and died here in Sacramento August 7, 1850. He is the cemetery's most restless resident. He died once (1850), was exhumed twice (1877, 1889), and was buried three times in three different locations.

12.  Governor John Bigler               1806‑1871
Elected to California's first legislature in 1849, he became the first Speaker of the Assembly. He was elected this state's third governor in 1852 and re‑elected in 1854, being the only governor to serve more than one term from 1849 until 1939. As governor, he was instrumental in bringing the Capitol here to stay in 1854.

13.  Grand Army Of The Republic Memorial
Dedicated in 1889, the Grand Army Monument is reputed to have been the first Civil War memorial in the state of California.

14.  Capt. James T. Homans, USN               1805‑1849
This is the earliest known burial in the City Cemetery. Capt. Homans died July 20, 1849, and was initially buried in the Tier Grounds, located in the front of the cemetery. When his son died in 1858, Mrs. Homans purchased this lot and had her husband and son buried together. The stone is circa 1858.

15.  Historic Volunteer Firemen's Plot And Bell
Sacramento has the distinction of forming the first Volunteer Fire Company in the state, organizing in February of 1850. The gallant volunteers served until 1872, when a paid Department came on line. The old 1,900 steel fire bell, cast in 1859 in Sheffield, England, came around the Horn and was placed in service in 1863.

• A.  Administration

• B.  Mortuary Chapel

• C.  Albert Driggs Veterans Memorial

• D.  Battleship Maine Memorial

• E.  Grand Army Plot No. 2

• F.   Lt. Lansdale Spanish American War Veterans Memorial

• G.  Old Volunteer Firemen's Plot

Notable burials

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

• Hardin Bigelow – first directly-elected Mayor of Sacramento
• Marion Biggs – United States Representative from California^[8]
• John Bigler – third Governor of California and Minister to Chile
• Newton Booth – United States Senator & Eleventh Governor of California
• John Chilton Burch – United States Representative from California^[9]
• Amos P. Catlin – California State Legislator that wrote and carried the bill to make Sacramento the permanent capital of California^[10]
• Thomas Jefferson Clunie – United States Representative from California^[11]
• George B. Cosby – Confederate State Army Brigader General^[8]
• Aimée Crocker – heiress daughter of Edwin B. Crocker^[8]
• Edwin B. Crocker – California Supreme Court Justice and founder of the Crocker Art Museum
• Jerome C. Davis - Pioneer rancher/farmer and namesake of Davis, California and UC Davis, which were built on his former land^[8]
• Charles Duncombe – California State Assemblymember in Sacramento County and one of the first doctors in Sacramento^[8]
• James L. English – Mayor of Sacramento and State Treasurer of California^[8]
• Newton T. Gould – Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient^[12]
• William Stephen Hamilton – son of Alexander Hamilton and victim of the 1850 cholera epidemic
• Frederick Winslow Hatch – served as Chaplain of the United States Senate^[8]
• Mark Hopkins, Jr. – one of the Big Four & a founder of the Central Pacific Railroad
• William Irwin – thirteenth Governor of California^[13]
• Elisabeth Philippine Zimmermann- Survivor of the Donner Party and wife of Lewis Keseberg, its most infamous survivor. He died in 1895, but his grave site is unknown. The Kesebergs lost two children, Lewis Jr. and Ada at Donner Lake, but went on to have nine more.^[8]
• Grove L. Johnson – United States Representative from California and father of United States Senator & Governor of California Hiram Johnson^[8]
• Hugh C. Murray – California Supreme Court Justice^[8]
• Henry L. Nichols – Mayor of Sacramento and Secretary of State of California^[8]
• Levi Rackliffe – State Treasurer of California^[8]
• Benjamin B. Redding – Mayor of Sacramento, California State Assemblymember, Secretary of State of California and the namesake for the city of Redding, California^[8]
• Lebbeus Simkins – Civil War sailor and Medal of Honor recipient^[12]
• Royal T. Sprague – California State Senator and California Supreme Court Justice^[8]
• John Augustus Sutter, Jr. – founder and planner of the City of Sacramento, U.S. Consul in Acapulco, Mexico and son of John Augustus Sutter, Sr.^[5]
• Jabez Turner – Mayor of Sacramento^[8]
• A. A. H. Tuttle – California State Assemblymember, Secretary of State of California and the namesake of Tuttletown, California^[8]
• Edwin G. Waite – California State Assemblymember and Secretary of State of California^[8]
• Albert Maver Winn – first City Council of Sacramento and chosen as President (ex officio Mayor), California State Adjutant General and founder of the Native Sons of the Golden West
• Gen. George Wright – General in the Union Army of the American Civil War^[14]
• Lt. Thomas F. Wright – son of Gen. George Wright, was killed while fighting in the Modoc War^[8]

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