California
SAVING GRAVES
Cemetery Project Report
SONOMA COUNTY HOSPITAL
CEMETERY View Photo
(aka Old County
Cemetery and Chanate Cemetery)
For information about a new project being undertaken to resolve problems with the condition of this cemetery, please contact:
JEREMY
NICHOLS
JeremyNichols@Sprintmail.com
Make a
donation to help move this project along!
Make a tax-deductible
contribution
to the
Sonoma County Historical
Society
SCHS Cemetery Fund
P.O. Box 1373
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
See
the Newsletter below for recent updates!
United Way "Day of Caring" at Old Sonoma County Cemetery
a Success
Fifteen volunteers from the United Way's "Day Of Caring" gave their
time on Wednesday, September 17, 2003 to start the restoration of the Old Sonoma
County Cemetery on Chanate Road. The old cemetery is located on county property
behind the Sutter family care center. It was used for indigent burials, as well
as those Chinese who were refused burial at private cemeteries. The cemetery was
used between 1876 and 1944 but was then abandoned and now is completely
overgrown. The Day of Caring volunteers, working under the supervision of
professionals from the Regional Parks Department, cleared brush from the
cemetery and uncovered some old grave markers.
Of course, the volunteers were not able to clean up the entire 1.5 acre site in
one day. They were able to clear an area on the east side where a monument will
be erected when funds are available from private donors. This monument will
explain the history of the cemetery and will honor the 1500 people who are
buried there. It is also hoped that funds can be raised for a Memorial Wall
containing all of the names of the dead, since there are almost no tombstones in
the cemetery. The volunteers also cleared an area near the proposed monument
site. In the process, they showed that it will be possible to make the site
accessible for walking without causing a runoff problem that would pollute the
adjacent creek.
Most of the graves in the Old Sonoma County Cemetery are unmarked. Those that
are marked have only a "soup can" full of cement with a number in the
top. One grave was found with a "real" tombstone. We were expecting
this tombstone to be Chinese and were quite surprised to learn that it was
Japanese. This stone marks the final resting place of "Tadrichi Terao,"
according to his death certificate, a Japanese man who died on February 20,
1923. The tombstone was engraved with the ideographs used in many Oriental
languages. The translation, which is still incomplete, gives the man's name as
"Tarao Kaeichi" and his home as Hiroshima province.
Much additional work will be necessary to complete the cleanup
of the cemetery grounds. This can be done on future Days of Caring or by other
volunteer groups. The cemetery should be fenced and paths and benches could be
installed to make visiting a pleasant experience. A monument to the 1500 dead
plus a Memorial Wall with all names engraved is planned for when funds are
available. The cemetery is adjacent to Paulin Creek, where Sonoma County and the
City of Santa Rosa jointly have planned a walking trail. Finally, I am writing a
book on the history of the cemetery, as well as the Sonoma County Farm and
Hospital. This book will contain a listing of all of the burials at the Old
Sonoma County Cemetery.
Jeremy Nichols