Redwood City in San Mateo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Union Cemetery

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, July 17, 2022

1. Union Cemetery Marker

Inscription. 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.

Erected 1999 by State Department of Parks & Recreation, Union Cemetery Assoc., Capitulus Redivivus Yerba Buena No.1, A&HO E. Clampus Vitus. (Marker Number 816.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Patriots & Patriotism • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the California Historical Landmarks, and the E Clampus Vitus series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1859.

Location. 37° 28.361′ N, 122° 13.379′ W. Marker is in Redwood City, California, in San Mateo County. Marker

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is on Woodside Road (California Route 84) half a mile west of El Camino Real (California Route 82), on the right when traveling west. The marker is located at the cemetery parking strip, at the west end of the cemetery in front of the entrance to the grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 200 Woodside Road, Redwood City CA 94063, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. In Memoriam George Edgar Filkins (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Grand Army of the Republic Memorial (about 700 feet away); Grand Army of the Republic (about 700 feet away); Solari Family Windmill (about 800 feet away); Solari Windmill (about 800 feet away); Stage Station (approx. ¾ mile away); Fire Station No. 1 (approx. 0.8 miles away); Diller's Island (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Redwood City.

More about this marker. An original marker was placed at the site in 1967. A new marker was placed in 1999.

Regarding Union Cemetery. The cemetery contains many old and damaged graves & headstones, some of which are in the process of being restored. These graves & headstones are easily damaged. Please remain on the established paths and outside any grave boundary fences. If you wish to make "rubbings" of the headstones, please be respectful & contact the Historic Union Cemetery

Union Cemetery Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, July 17, 2022

2. Union Cemetery Markers

Association first.

Also see . . . Union Cemetery is the first and one of the oldest burial grounds in San Mateo County. If it was the first, would it not "be" the oldest?

"Union Cemetery was founded when Horace Hawes, who owned the land that is now the site of Sequoia High School, would no longer allow people to be buried on his property at Broadway and El Camino. A committee was formed and decided on the current location with the financial assistance of Mr. Hawes. The first burial was in March of 1859. There are plots designated for the Grand Army of the Republic, the Masons, IOOF (the Independent Order of Odd Fellows) and the Improved Order of Red Men. Over the years, Union Cemetery became the final resting place for lumbermen, merchants, shopkeepers and judges, among others. It has officially been closed for burials since 1918, unless a family already owned a plot. For years thereafter however, Redwood City administrators utilized it as a paupers’ field; those unable to afford a burial place were able to intern loved ones here."

(Submitted on July 19, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, July 17, 2022

3. Union Cemetery Marker

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, July 17, 2022

4. Union Cemetery Marker

Preservation brings history to life
Historic Union Cemetery Association, Inc.
Presented October 1994
Redwood City Heritage Association

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, July 17, 2022

5. Union Cemetery Marker

Union Cemetery
Est. 1859
Has been placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
By the United States Department of the Interior

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, July 17, 2022

6. Union Cemetery Marker

Union Cemetery Civil War Soldiers Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mathew H. Kohnen, October 27, 2007

7. Union Cemetery Civil War Soldiers Memorial

In this place are buried soldiers who lived, served and died in California during the American Civil War.

Union Cemetery Plot Map image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, September 12, 2011

8. Union Cemetery Plot Map

Civil War Memorial Statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mathew H. Kohnen, November 27, 2007

9. Civil War Memorial Statue

This statue, placed at the center of the graves of those who served in the Civil War carries the following inscription on its base;
"To the memory of California's Patriotic dead,
who served during the war for the Union
- Mustered Out." The bronze statue of the soldier was removed, refurbushed and re-erected in 1999.

Looking west down "Central Ave." in Union Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mathew H. Kohnen, November 27, 2007

10. Looking west down "Central Ave." in Union Cemetery

Besides the Civil War Memorial, Union Cemetery also contains the graves of many pioneering families who founded and settled in the communities of the mid-peninsula area. Today, it is a quiet place in which to walk and contemplate history.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 4, 2007, by Mathew H. Kohnen of San Jose, California. This page has been viewed 3,438 times since then and 47 times this year. Last updated on July 19, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 20, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 26, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 6. submitted on July 20, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 7. submitted on November 4, 2007, by Mathew H. Kohnen of San Jose, California. 8. submitted on August 2, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 9, 10. submitted on November 4, 2007, by Mathew H. Kohnen of San Jose, California. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.