Historical Marker · No. 541
Brother Jonathan Cemetery
Crescent City, Del Norte County · California
Erected by California State Park Commission; Del Norte County Historical Society, 1960
The bronze calls her a Pacific Mail steamer; the Brother Jonathan had belonged to the California Steam Navigation Company since 1861, and the error matters less than what the plaque leaves out. On July 30, 1865, loaded past what her captain wanted, she struck an uncharted rock off Point St. George in a gale and sank within half an hour. Nineteen of some 244 aboard survived. Sixty-six of the dead were buried on this ground, only about twenty-five of them named. The loss helped bring the lighthouse later built on St. George Reef.
What the plaque says
Brother Jonathan Cemetery This memorial is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the wreck of the Pacific Mail steamer, Brother Jonathan, at Point St. George's Reef, July 30, 1865. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 541 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Del Norte County Historical Society, October 20, 1960.
Where it stands
41.75111, -124.21168 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Site of Old Indian Village at Pebble Beach, Crescent City — 0.6 mi
- Battery Point Lighthouse — 0.7 mi
- S.S. Emidio — 0.8 mi
- Crescent City Plank and Turnpike Road — 5.1 mi