California
SAVING GRAVES
Endangered Cemetery Report
ST. ROSE'S CATHOLIC CEMETERY
French Gulch, Shasta
County, California
Date Received: 20 Apr 2003
Historical Brief:
(1) At French Gulch (SRL 166),
originally called Morrowville, the diggings were very rich. In their avid
search for gold, some of the minders even tore down their cabins to follow the
leads extending under them. This once wild camp is today a peaceful
community. Still standing are several old stone buildings which give the
place something of the atmosphere of the gold days.
[Historic
Spots in CALIFORNIA, Third Edition; Mildred Brooke Hoover, Hero Eugene
Rensch and Ethel Grace Rensch; Revised by William N. Abelow; Stanford University
Press, Stanford, California; 1966.]
(2)
In the year 1856 there were as many as six thousand miners in and around Shasta
Diggings, and the express companies were shipping out a half a million dollars
in gold dust every month. French Gulch, fifteen miles to the west on Clear
Creek, due to rich discoveries in its vicinity had grown to be quite a
prosperous town, and the Catholics soon put up a very commodious little church.
[Hallowed
Were the Gold Dust Trails, The Story of the Pioneer Priests of Northern
California, Second Printing, Henry L. Walsh, S.J., University of Santa Clara
Press, 1947.]
REPORT
Cemetery:
Saint Rose's Catholic Cemetery
Other: Old
Catholic Cemetery
Sign:
No
Street: corner of
Main Street and French Gulch Road
City:
French Gulch
Township:
County: Shasta
State: CA
Nation: United States
Zip:
96033
Status: Abandoned
Size:
Small
Directions: An uphill foot trail begins just prior to
crossing the small concrete bridge as you enter the town of French Gulch (the
foot trail would be on the left)
Type: Road-public
Location: Rural
Terrain: Hillside
Watersource: Yes
Features: A few old Oak trees
and lots of weeds
Property: Private
Access:
Permission-required
Enclosure: Fence
Gate:
Non-locking
Established: 1850's ?
Gravestones: 70
Oldest: 1859
Newest: 1946
Removed: Unknown
Relocated: Unsure
Repairs: Unsure
Methods: Adhesives
Restoration: No
Association: No
Records: Unsure
Inventory: Unsure
Availability:
Landscaping: Unsure
Paths:
No
Trees: Unsure
Crypts: No
Fencing: Yes
Brickwork: No
Ironwork: Yes
Sculpture: Yes
Fountains: No
Roads: No
Buildings: No
Cement: Unsure
Granite: Unsure
Marble: Unsure
Native: Yes
Slate: Yes
Others: Yes
Wood: No
Materials: Unsure
Architectural: Unsure
Angels: Unsure
Draperies: Unsure
Fraternal: Unsure
Hands: Yes
Lambs: Yes
Monograms: Yes
Plants: Unsure
Photos: No
Religious: Yes
Scrollwork: Unsure
Urns: Unsure
Carvings: Unsure
Condition: Cemetery neglected
Unmarked: Yes
Broken: Yes
Toppled: Yes
Disintegrating: Yes
Buried: Unsure
Weather: Unknown
Pollution: Unknown
Vandalized: Yes
Report: No
VA1:
Gravestones-Overturned
VA2:
Gravestones-Broken
VA3:
VA4:
VA5:
Overgrowth: None
Overgrowth1:
Overgrowth2:
Overgrowth3:
Overgrowth4:
GroundCover: Yes
Moss:
Vines:
Drainage: Good
Problem1:
Problem2: Apathy
Owner: Unknown
Use:
Agricultural
Bordering: Woods
Change: Same
Reason: Roads
Visited: Rarely
Archeology: No
Habitat: Yes
Contacted:
name: Susan Williams
Email: susanvw@shasta.com
Date: April 20, 2003
Surnames:
Beckwith, Berberich, Burk, Desmond, Feeney, Foley, Gartland, Hopping,
Kelley, Kessel, Laboudigue, Lawton, Madden, Mathewson, McCarthy,
McCray, McDonald, McVacco, Murray, Newbarth, Scoble, Sheehan,
Shonhoffer, Steele, Wilder, Wolf
Other_Information:
Support:
Joann Williams
General Delivery
French Gulch, CA 96033