EL DORADO COUNTY

PIONEER
CEMETERIES COMMISSION
(a California 501(3)(c) Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation)

SKINNER RANCH CEMETERY
Green Valley Road
Cameron Park, California

          In 1981, Skinner family descendant Dolores Saak and her mother visited the old Skinner cemetery.  They have graciously shared their photographs of the cemetery with us.  They show the few grave stones left lonely on the hill with but few visitors any more.  Longtime residents of the area knew of the cemetery's location, but few newcomers had yet to move in and discover it.

          The toppled tombstone in the foreground is that of James and Jessie Skinner.  The white marble base behind it bears the name of their nineteen year old son, John A. Skinner, who was accidentally killed while out hunting in 1868.

          Another view of the grave markers of James, Jessie and John Skinner.  The marble base is on top of a square granite base cut from the quarry at Folsom Prison.  The little top ornamentation was removed in 1981 by Dolores and her mother who feared someone might steal it.

A closer view of John's marker.

James and Jessie Skinner's tombstone showing the open space on the hill west of the cemetery.

     David Reid came to America with James and Jessie Skinner in the 1840s.  He remained with their family for his entire lifetime after that, surviving both James and Jessie after their deaths.  He died at the El Dorado County Hospital and was returned to his home at the Skinner ranch where he was buried beside his lifelong friends.
      David's tombstone was stolen sometime around the early 1990s.  It was recovered through a project called the "Tombstone Amnesty Program."   We asked no questions.  We only wanted the grave stones back.

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