Colma in San Mateo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Colma Historical Museum
Circa 1910
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites.
Location. 37° 40.944′ N, 122° 27.385′ W. Marker is in Colma, California, in San Mateo County. Marker can be reached from Hillside Boulevard near F Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near
this postal address: 1500 Hillside Boulevard, Daly City CA 94014, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Mount Olivet Cemetery Office and Streetcar Line (here, next to this marker); Old Colma Railroad Station (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Old Colma Railroad Station (within shouting distance of this marker); Colma City Hall (approx. 0.4 miles away); Waterworks and the Pump House (approx. 0.9 miles away); Joe Cavalli – Historical Site (approx. 0.9 miles away); Molloy’s Springs (approx. 0.9 miles away); Cuneo Farm and Produce Market (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Colma.
More about this marker. Marker is mounted on the left archway at the entrance to the museum.
Also see . . .
1. History of the Town of Colma. (Submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.)
2. The Colma History Museum. (Submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.)

Photographed By Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
5. Cemetery Worker's Bell Plaque

Photographed By Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
7. Mystery Tombstone
This tombstone, one of the oldest found in Colma, marked the gravesite of H.J. Hartnagle, who died in 1875. The tombstone was originally located at Odd Fellows Cemetery in San Francisco. It was discovered in 2001 near Holy Cross Cemetery along the old Southern Pacific right-of-way during tunnel excavation associated with the San Francisco Airport BART extension. In the 1930’s, when courts decreed that all bodies in existing San Francisco cemeteries be removed, Hartnagle’s remains were transferred to a mass gravesite at Odd Fellows (Greenlawn) Cemetery in Colma. During the transfer, the tombstone was somehow separated from the body. It may have accidentally fallen from a railroad car or may have been discarded as many tombstones were when San Francisco’s cemeteries were evicted. Individual tombstones are prohibited at the mass gravesite.
It may never be known how the tombstone was separated from Hartnagel.
It may never be known how the tombstone was separated from Hartnagel.

Photographed By Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
8. Traveling Undertakers Table
On display in museum.
When an undertaker had to travel from one town to another, he took with him all the tools of the trade. One of which was a table to lay the corpse on to prepare for embalming, autopsy, or for preparation for viewing.
When an undertaker had to travel from one town to another, he took with him all the tools of the trade. One of which was a table to lay the corpse on to prepare for embalming, autopsy, or for preparation for viewing.

Photographed By Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
11. Blacksmith Shop
The essential features of a blacksmith shop include forge, bellows, anvil, quenching tub, metal-forming tools and a workbench with a vise. Tools that a blacksmith would have required are hammers to shape the metal without heat; chisels and cleavers for cutting; punches and hand drills to make different types of holes; soldering irons to unite two pieces of metal without heating the whole metal; and files to smooth the edges. Different types of simple tongs would be used to hold the hot metal as kit was worked. The blacksmith was frequently the local jack-of-all-trades working with metal fittings and equipment pertaining to trains, farming, gun making, and in later years, automobiles. Blacksmiths could also be skilled in woodworking and were frequently the wagon makers in their community. Here in Colma each monument company had its own blacksmith shop. The making of chisels and keeping them sharp was a never-ending job related to carving the lettering on monument.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. This page has been viewed 2,334 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 10, 11. submitted on April 28, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.