Temple Israel Cemetery

The bronze is in storage. Thieves tried three times around 2014 to pry the hundred-pound 1961 plaque off its granite, so the cemetery's superintendent had it taken down, and a copy was cut into the stone itself. The copy rewrites the credit line into the past tense — the original bronze was placed — and drops every comma. Behind it lies ground Charles Weber gave to Stockton's Jewish community in 1851. The first burial, that October, was S. Friedlander, who had died in the Sonora diggings.

What the plaque says

Temple Israel Cemetery This hallowed ground was donated by Captain Charles M Weber in 1851 for use as a cemetery by the Jewish community of Stockton It is the oldest Jewish cemetery in continuous use in California and west of the Rocky Mountains California Registered Historical Landmark No 765 The original bronze plaque was placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with Temple Israel and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations December 10 1961

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Stockton Developmental Center — 0.4 mi
• John Brown (California's Paul Revere) — 0.6 mi
• Lindsay Point — 0.9 mi
• Reuel Colt Gridley Monument — 1.0 mi