Union Cemetery

The cemetery began with an eviction. A tenant had let thirteen burials onto Horace Hawes's land, where Sequoia High School now stands, and when Hawes came back he wanted them gone. The county conceded his right, and Hawes then paid much of the price of these six acres. The first body moved, in May 1859, was four-year-old Annie M. Douglass, whose marker stands on Central Avenue beside her brother Nathan's. The bronze puts the Civil War three years after the founding; it was two.

What the plaque says

Preservation brings history to life Historic Union Cemetery Association, Inc. Presented October 1994 Redwood City Heritage Association Union Cemetery Union Cemetery's name reflects the controversy that erupted in the Civil War, three years after the cemetery's beginnings in 1859. Pro- and anti-slavery feelings ran high in California, and the founders of the cemetery strongly opposed the secessionist sentiment that threatened the nation's unity. Because of a controversy over the cemetery's ownership, the state enacted its first cemetery legislation. Although its provisions did not affect Union Cemetery, the law of 1859 allowed for the incorporation of rural burial grounds. The State of California owned Union Cemetery from 1859 until 1962 when it was deeded to Redwood City. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 816 Originally registered June 1, 1967. Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Union Cemetery Association and Capitulus Redivivus Yerba Buena No.1, A&HO of E Clampsus Vitus, July 4, 1999. Union Cemetery Est. 1859 Has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Menlo Park Railroad Station — 2.5 mi
• Capidro — 3.1 mi
• Portolá Journey's End — 3.3 mi
• Hostess House — 3.8 mi