Pioneer Baby's Grave

One grave survived the road. When crews working on what became Highway 299 found the infant's grave in 1923, they built the road around it, with traffic on both sides; it was widened to the south in 1933 and to the north in 1946. The rest of the Shasta Hebrew Congregation's cemetery land, set aside in 1857, fared worse: the highway runs through it, and the county deeded the three and a half acres to Redding's congregation only in 1985. Charles Brownstein was eight months old. Visitors still leave toys.

What the plaque says

Pioneer Baby's Grave Charles, infant son of George and Helena Cohn Brownstein of Red Bluff, died December 14, 1864. He was buried near land established by the Shasta Hebrew Congregation as a Jewish cemetery in 1857, one of the earliest such cemeteries in the region. Since there was no Jewish burial ground in Red Bluff, Charles' parents made the arduous journey to Shasta to lay their baby to rest. Concern for the fate of the grave led to the rerouting of Highway 299 in 1923. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 377 First registered July 28, 1942. Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Shasta Historical Society, Kevin Hollis Moss Historical Fund and Trinitarianus Chapter 62, E Clampus Vitus, July 28, 1990.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Old Town of Shasta — 0.5 mi
• Father Rinaldi's Foundation of 1856 — 0.9 mi
• Whiskeytown — 4.0 mi
• Reading's Bar — 7.6 mi