Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Committee

The Committee would like to start a new series for you called "Cemetery Resident Profile" our first profile is written by one of our own board members. Please enjoy and in the comments let us know if there is someone or a type of person, example nurse, doctors, etc. You would be interested in learning more about. Enjoy and we look forward to hearing from you. Rachel Haskell (1829 to 1900) Rachel Haskell filled her life in early California with a distinctive combination of b...Continue reading

We asked for your help during the Big Day of Giving and our members and friends did not let us down!! With your help, the Old City Cemetery Committee’s Lot Marker Project will be able to purchase not the 500 markers we were shooting for but almost 600! Thanks to your giving, we raised $5975. We had 82 donors giving an average of $73. There’s a bonus, we won a Big Day of Giving Prize of $1000 to add another 100 markers. To help put this in perspective, many of the cemetery sections have 25 lots and some of the bigger sections have close to 100 lots. Any way one looks at it, we will be able to do many sections with almost 700 markers. Thank you for your generosity. And, save the date: May 5th for next year’s Big Day of Giving event. Little by little, we will be able to do the whole cemetery.

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day

We have met our goal but can we do more?! Every marker donation will add more markers which will complete more sections of our beloved cemetery. If you haven't donated and still want to help us purchase more markers, think about using your Golden 1 credit/debit card. Your donation will be worth more thanks to Golden 1. No Golden 1, that's ok. Any card works and any amount of $15 or more helps the Old City Cemetery Committee Lot Marker Project.

Hello All, I just wanted to thank those members that have donated to the Old City Cemetery Committee's Lot Marker Project. With your help we have almost reached our goal of 500 markers and there's still a half day left! But we are still a ways away from reaching our goal. If you were thinking of giving today, we know there are many organizations to choose where your donation dollars may go. If you think OCCC's project for lot markers for our beloved cemetery is one you c...an support, then please help us. On different note, we hope you will join us for the Members' Meeting in June. More information will be coming your way soon concerning the meeting. Again, a huge thank you to those that have supported OCCC's Lot Marker Project. For those that are considering a donation, here is our link. Old City Cemetery Committee

As you have probably guessed by now, we are cancelling the remainder of this year’s history tours, garden tours, and workshops. Also, it is with heavy hearts that we must announce the cancellation of the 2020 Lantern Tours. We had developed what we thought would be a viable variation of the Tours following health and safety guidelines. Even so, the City determined that the welfare of the patrons and volunteers could not be guaranteed, and a permit would not be issued. The Cemetery remains open during regular daytime hours and we hope you’ll take a self-guided tour or just wander at your leisure. We hope to see you again in the future.

It's wonderful to see these shattered stones repaired and standing once again, funded by our non-profit. Thanks to all who have supported our fundraising efforts, including tours, events, and sales of roses and merchandise. Thanks too, to the conservator and city staff for your work. We look forward to resuming our volunteer efforts, and restoring more of the cemetery monuments, in the upcoming years.

Not exactly an award plaque, this object from the Eleanor McClatchy Collection features a metal casket handle and a small brass plate that reads, To the Sacram...ento Bee for your assistance in returning John A. Sutter Jr. John A. Sutter Jr., son of the John A. Sutter of Sutter’s Fort, arrived in California in the fall of 1848. Junior was tasked with settling his father’s debts and hired engineers to survey what was then named Sacramento City. In 1850, Sutter Jr. moved to Acapulco, Mexico, where he served many years as American Consul. He died in Mexico in 1897. In 1964, his remains were moved to the city he founded with the cooperation of Acapulco’s mayor and Sutter Jr.’s great-grandson Ricardo Morlett Sutter and lone surviving daughter, Anna. He was reinterred in the Sacramento Old City Cemetery where his grave marker is visible just inside the main gate. The Sacramento Bee noted the original casket was crumbling when it was exhumed and that the remains were transferred to a steel casket for the journey to Sacramento. The reason for the plaque and what specific assistance the newspaper played in bringing the remains to Sacramento is unclear. (1982/006/453)

Lantern Tour actors were out in force as "Silent Sentinels" encouraging people to vote at our cemetery gates and in Old Sacramento. They joined many others who stood for two hours Saturday morning, dressed in historic costumes or wearing the National Woman's Party colors of purple, gold and white. Suffragists fought hard for women's right to vote. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Sentinels. Cast your ballot!

Wonder what happens to your donations, membership fees, proceeds from rose and Lantern Tour ticket purchases? The Old City Cemetery Committee has funded monument repairs for its three+ decades of supporting the cemetery to the tune of about $200,000. Hundreds of stones have been mended and stablized, but some were so badly broken that a conservator is needed to painstakingly patch them together and stand them erect once again. We provided $35K to fully fund the repair of five such stones. We'd love to put together a volunteer team to help with future repairs so that they can be done more cheaply. We also hope to be able to resume fund-raising as soon as possible. More broken stones await!

In today's edition of Cemetery Stories: Capitol Connections, Capitol Eric and guest Alex Vassar of the California State Library present the story of Creed Haymond, a man who knew 7000 laws by heart! https://youtu.be/SqW4xqG2AEI

In today's edition of Cemetery Stories: Capitol Connections, Capitol Eric tells the story of Assemblyman John C. Bell. If you think today's political climate is charged, listen to the story of Assemblyman Bell. https://youtu.be/GaDtPRjKYfU

For tonight's Preservation Commission meeting starting at 5:30 pm PDT, the call-in phone number is 916-808-7213, and you can watch the meeting online at: http://sacramento.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=21 'See you then'!

The Preservation Commission will be discussing a Preservation Assessment and 5-year Preservation Plan for the cemetery tomorrow. The Zoom meeting starts at 530 pm. The plan was developed without volunteer knowledge or involvement, and has a number of inaccuracies. Our board has sent a letter to the commission and applicable staff offices stating our concerns, and asking that the plan be revised before implementation to recognize all aspects of the cemetery landscape as lis...ted in the National Register of Historic Places. Information in the report should be corrected to ensure that the recommendations are sound. Many inaccuracies should be corrected. We hope that the community and staff can find a way to work cooperatively together as we have done in the past, and to enhance the beauty of the site while protecting the historic monuments. The Preservation Assessment is at https://www.cityofsacramento.org//20200109-SHC-Preservatio The agenda is at https://sacramento.granicusideas.com//3788-pr/agenda_items. You may send an ecomment (no more that 1000 characters) or sign up to speak for no more than three minutes in the afternoon before the meeting. The staff report provides further information, much of which is of concern, as well as proposed signage policy. https://sacramento.granicusideas.com//3788-pr/agenda_items See more

In today's edition of Cemetery Stories: Capitol Connections, Capitol Eric tells us the story of Senator Amos P. Catlin, someone who should've gotten a much nicer headstone than he did. https://youtu.be/WZN4lxIhzI0

In today's edition of Cemetery Stories: Capitol Connections, learn the story of Samuel H. Gerrish, a man who had much time on his hands. https://youtu.be/tSvrAZ4lT94

We can't be with you in person, but don't despair! Season 4 of Cemetery Stories: Capitol Connections is almost here! Capitol Eric has four new stories to share, and we're going to post one every Saturday for you, starting tomorrow! Stay tuned for seldom-told tales of Cemetery residents who have a connection to our Capitol. We've seen a few sneak previews and we know you're going to enjoy these stories!

Visitors are welcome at the Cemetery during daylight hours. Hello, Kitty!

Our tour guide Capitol Eric tells the story of an unlucky guy named William...

Luella Johnston tells her own story about women's suffrage in California and her personal involvement in the political process -- a Sacramento and California first! https://youtu.be/1RILvv2LCXs