Did You Know About... Colma, California?

The Town of Colma, known as the “City of Souls”

In the late 19th Century, San Francisco’s cemeteries were nearly full. By 1890, California passed State Penal Code 297 which prohibited burials anywhere except in an established cemetery.

In 1900 San Francisco, California outlawed new burials within its city limits. A majority of the city’s cemeteries were evicted by 1912. Where did they move the bodies?

Colma, California

The community of Colma was originally formed in the 1800s as a collection of homes and small businesses. Several churches were founded in the early years and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese established the first cemetery in Colma, named Holy Cross, in 1897. Colma became a town in 1924.

Preparing for the new residents

Incoming

Roughly 150,000 bodies were moved from San Francisco to Colma between 1920 and 1941. For $10 family members could have their loved ones moved along with their grave marker. If you didn’t have the $10 or if you just didn’t care, those bodies were reburied in mass graves. The materials used for those grave markers were recycled and used within various San Francisco public works projects.

Is Colma a Necropolis?

The short answer is yes. Not quite like the ones you’d see created by the Ancient Greeks or Egyptians, but it is considered a modern-day necropolis.

Living to Dead Ratio

Obviously the numbers are always changing, although the number of deceased has certainly slowed as the town’s cemeteries become full, but as of the last census, there were 1000 times more deceased than living.

In the map below you can see the amount of land used for cemeteries in Colma.

Colma, as it looks now

Famous dead residents

Holy Cross Cemetery

Joe DiMaggio – a three-time American League Most Valuable Player and an All-Star in each of his 13 seasons. He won 10 AL pennants and nine World Series championships.

Jimmy Britt – a professional boxer from 1902 to 1909. In his career he fought 23 bouts. After retiring from boxing he became a vaudeville performer. He was elected to the Ring Magazine hall of fame in 1976.

Abigail Folger – the heiress to the Folger’s coffee company and a victim of the Manson family.

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park

Phineas Gage – an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his survival after an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain’s left frontal lobe.

William Randolph Hearst – an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation’s largest newspaper chain and media company.

Willie McCovey – a Hall of Fame first baseman who played professional baseball from 1959 to 1980. He was a six-time All-Star, three-time home run champion, MVP, and is currently 20th on the all-time home runs list.

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park

Wyatt Earp – an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp was involved in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He is buried next to his wife, Josephine Marcus Earp.

Levi Strauss – a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. Levi Strauss & Co. began in 1853 in San Francisco.