Winters Cemetery, Winters

Cemetery location: Cemetery Drive, Winters
Gates open weekdays 7:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Mailing address: Winters Cemetery District, P.O. Box 402, Winters, CA 95694-0402, (530) 795-2475

The Winters Cemetery was originally known as the Masonic Cemetery of Winters and was founded in 1876 for members of the Masonic Order and for the public. The first burial in the cemetery was Bert Allen who died on November 22, 1876, age 22. The bodies of people from cemeteries in Buckeye and Wolfskill, who were buried as early as 1860, were exhumed from these cemeteries and reburied in the Masonic Cemetery of Winters. It was also noted that several members of the Donner party were buried in the Masonic Cemetery of Winters including Solomon Hook, his wife Alice M. Hook, and their son Edward. A 12-grave lot cost $12.50.

The Masonic Cemetery of Winters was enlarged through the years. In December 1941 the Masonic Lodge deeded all of the unsold lots, aisles, streets, and alleys to Yolo County as it was no longer able to finance the cemetery operation. The cemetery then became known as the “Winters Cemetery.”

Plot maps, photographs, and transcriptions of some of the Winters Cemetery stones are available at the California Tombstone Project - Yolo County. (Scroll down to the bottom section of the page.)

(The following photographs were taken by Peggy B. Perazzo, used with permission.)

• Description of the Winters Cemetery:

  I visited the Winters Cemetery on a July afternoon, and found the cemetery to be wide open to the hot sun of summer. There are a few large trees in groups, although the caretaker told me several trees had been recently taken down as they were “falling apart.” The Winters Cemetery is a very appealing cemetery and is entirely flat, grass-covered, and well-taken care of by the Winters Cemetery District. The boundaries of the cemetery at the entrance and to the right face either houses or fields. Looking out over the other two boundaries, you can see the hills and fields at a distance, although new housing has recently been built even along that right-back border. The cemetery is laid out in a grid fashion with the sections in the shapes of rectangles with roads dividing most of the sections. (I revisited the cemetery since this described visit above and found that many more houses have been built around the cemetery.)

  In the early morning, the Winters Cemetery would be a quiet, peaceful place; but later in the day it does not have that feeling due to the new homes that were built at its borders.

  Two of the sections of the Winters Cemetery contain the old marble stones from the 1800s and early 1900s. The white marble stones in the Winters Cemetery are in very good condition, still very white. There are also marble monuments with gray-veined white marble. The caretaker told me the good condition of the marble is due to the weather. The carvers and company names found on the signed marble stones were from Woodland, Sacramento, Napa, and San Jose. There are a few tall stones, but the majority of the marble stones are of a shorter variety. Other monuments of interest are some very nice metal monuments with various designs on the fronts and backs of the monuments.

• Stone Carvers and Company Names Found on Signed Marble Cemetery Stones in the Winters Cemetery. If you would like more information on the following stone workers, feel free to contact Peggy B. Perazzo.
  

  Aitken & Fish, Sacramento Alameda Marble Works, San Jose E. F. Hebener, Woodland

  H. P. Martin, Woodland Martin & Rogers, Napa City

[ Return to List ]

Woodland Cemetery, Woodland (Adjacent To The St. Joseph’s Cemetery)

Cemetery location: 800 West St. at intersection of Cross Street
Office address: Woodland Cemetery, 1122 Main Street, Woodland, CA 95695, (530) 661-5887

Contact person: Jeanette Goldin – email: jeanettegoldin@charter.net

October - March: Gates open 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
April - September: Gates open 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

The Woodland Cemetery is located at the intersection of Cross and West Streets. (West Street was named Cemetery Road in the past.)

In the fall of 1855 the people of Woodland built the small Union Church. There already was a small graveyard next to the church building. The Woodland Cemetery Association, a public corporation, was organized in 1869. The trustees purchased 10 acres of land on the West side of the present day West Street, which included the old graveyard. Then the trustees arranged to sell the Union Church building. It is not known if the building was moved or destroyed. These 10 acres were the beginning of the present day Woodland Cemetery. For nearly 100 years the Woodland Cemetery Association owned and managed the cemetery. The Woodland Cemetery was taken over by the City of Woodland in 1967.

In Woodland - City of Trees - A History, written by Shipley Walters, Ms. Walters wrote that Southern Wintun Indians may have lived on the land that is today the Woodland Cemetery as there used to be a seasonal stream at that location.

The list of burials from the original cemetery can be found at the Yolo County Archives.

Lookups and photographs of Woodland Cemetery stones are available at the California Tombstone Project - Yolo County. (Scroll down to the bottom section of the page.)

(The following photographs were taken by Peggy B. Perazzo, used with permission.

• Description of the Woodland Cemetery:

  The Woodland Cemetery is located next to the St. Joseph’s Cemetery, and they are only divided by a gravel road. When completed, there will be a fence surrounding the two cemeteries. The Woodland Cemetery is large and is comprised of four sections interspersed with these gravel roads with other sections going towards the back. The cemetery is generally covered in grass, and there are many mature trees throughout the cemetery. Some of the trees are: birch, redwood, cypress, olive, and there are palm trees along Cross Street.

  Looking at the Woodland Cemetery, it is not possible to tell where the original Union Church and Cemetery were located; although West Street, which runs across the front of both the Woodland and St. Joseph’s Cemeteries, was previously called Cemetery Road. Presently, there is an old cannon displayed inside the fence.

  The Woodland Cemetery has many old monuments of marble, granite, limestone, and metal in addition to some other types of materials such as wood and cement. Many of the marble stones are difficult to read as they have a dark covering on them, possibly from the trees above. There is only one granite mausoleum in the cemetery. This cemetery easily has the most signed marble stones of all of the Yolo County cemeteries. I located 45 signed stones, and there probably were more that were unreadable due to weathering. The 45 stones I located were created by carvers from Woodland, Sacramento, Alameda, and San Francisco from the last half of the 1800s and early 1900s.

• Stone Carvers & Company Names Found on Signed Marble Cemetery Stones in the Woodland Cemetery. If you would like more information on the following stone workers, feel free to contact Peggy B. Perazzo.
  

  A. C. Thompson, San Francisco Aitken & Co., Sacramento Aitken & Fish, Sacramento Aitken & Luce, Sacramento Alameda Marble Work, San Jose H. P. Martin, Woodland Hebener, M., & Co., Woodland Israel Luce & Co., Sacramento John C. Devine, Sacramento J. O. Shafer, Woodland

  J. R. Mitchell, Woodland John W. Combs, Alameda Marble Works L. O. Shafer, Woodland Martin & Rogers, Woodland McItroy & Fish, Sacramento Rogers Bros., Woodland Shafer & Barnes, Woodland W. Rogers, Woodland Wm. Boyne & Co., Sacramento

[ Return to List ]

Yolo County Cementaries of the Past

Cacheville Cemetery

(for photographs, see below: Knight/Yolo/Cashville Cemetery)

My research initially led me to believe that the Leonard Knight/Yolo/Cacheville Cemetery was a “family” cemetery located on the Knight ranch north of the town of Yolo. One research source indicated that the Knight family used the cemetery from 1852 until 1940, although Leonard Knight, who died in 1916, is buried at Mary’s Cemetery.

A Knight family member contacted me to let me know that this was not the Knight “family” cemetery but was actually the Cacheville Cemetery, which was used by the community prior to the opening of Mary’s Cemetery and Chapel. The cemetery is located in the town of Yolo. Once Mary’s Cemetery was available, the Cacheville Cemetery was no longer used.

Capay Valley (name of cemetery unknown)

In the early days of Capay Valley, people were buried in various locations including one site known to be on a slope under oak trees near the west side of Highway 16 at the end of the present day Road 82. Grassfires burned the wooden markers, and the headstones were scattered and lost as people began to use the Capay Cemetery, which was established in 1876. There is no written record of these deaths except in diaries and Bibles, although when Capay Valley - The Land - The People, 1846 - 1900 was written in 1986, it noted that one oak tree still stood.

Corbin Cemetery

The Corbin Cemetery is located in the vicinity of the Elkhorn Ferry along the Sacramento River at the end of County Road 87 one-half mile south of County Road 26 on the Corbin ranch, which is private property.

The following information about the Corbin Cemetery was contributed by Frank Vella in June 2006:

“The cemetery is a small plot and had a fence around it, but the cows have knocked it down, and displaced some of the headstones. 

“Here’s a list of the residents:  (1)  Dom W. Sherman,  August 6, 1812 -1861. (2)  Louis H. MERGLE, died November 1, 1870. (3)  Gertrude R. CORBIN, July 28, 1838 - August 22, 1918.  (4)  Dan CORBIN, October 6, 1870 - August 23, 1882.  (5)  Julian E. CORBIN, October 18, 1869 - May 8, 1956.  (6)  Thomas W. LATHAM, died December 20, 1853.  (7)  Sarah W. LATHAM, died July 26, 1865.  (8)  M. Caroline LETSON,  August 14, 1853 -  January 28, 1857.  (9)  L. H. SMITH, died  November 10, 1870.  (10) Daniel S. FRANCISCO, son of D.D. & L.A. FRANCISCO, died  January 14, 1869.  (11)  Kenneth R. McCOY of Browns Co., Ohio, died February 3, 1857.  (12)  OLIVEAVERY, born in Shaftbury,  Vermont March 24, 1786, died in Yolo Co. Ca. Dec 7. 1874.”

[ Return to List ]

Gordon Cemetery (A private, family cemetery)

The Gordon Cemetery was a private family cemetery in the southeastern end of Capay Valley. It was located on County Road 20 east of County Road 92C on the north bank of Cache Creek northwest of Woodland. The cemetery came into being when William Gordon, Sr., buried his wife Maria there two years after they arrived in Yolo County. The first burial in the Gordon Cemetery was in 1844. Those buried in the Gordon Cemetery were family and relatives. It is considered an abandoned cemetery today.

Lookups and photographs of some of the Gordon Cemetery stones are available at the California Tombstone Project - Yolo County. (Scroll down to the bottom section of the page.)

Guinda Cemetery

In the past there was a cemetery near Guinda, but nothing is left of it today. The Guinda Cemetery was located on a hill west of the town of Guinda in the northwestern portion of Capay Valley on Road 53.

[ Return to List ]

Hyatt-North Cemetery (A private, family cemetery)

The Hyatt-North Cemetery was a private, family cemetery established about the 1870s. It is located on SH 128 four miles west of Winters, northwest of North's Corner, in the hills in the Buckeye Area at the southern border of Yolo County on an oak-covered hilltop in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. According to the Historic Resources Inventory, 1986, the cemetery had been recently fenced and contained six grave sites.

“The Indian Cemetery”

This was the name of another cemetery above Rumsey now located on private land.

[ Return to List ]

Jewish Cemetery In Woodland

The abandoned Jewish Cemetery was located on the west side of College Street on the present site of the YMCA Southland Park.

In December 1891 the Jewish Cemetery Association of Woodland was incorporated, and between the years of 1891 and 1908 there were burials in the new cemetery. In a survey done in 1908, it was determined that there were 22 occupied plots of the approximately 66 plots found in the survey. When it was discovered in 1953, there had been no burials in the Jewish Cemetery since 1939, in 1953 the trustees decided that the cemetery should be abandoned. All those buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Woodland were offered reburial in the Home of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Sacramento.

Between 1955 and 1960, the Jewish Cemetery was excavated and all bodies removed for reburial in the Home of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Sacramento, although records cannot be found which confirm the reburials.

The land was divided, and the northern acre was deeded to the City of Woodland. On that site the City created the Southland Park in 1955. The other portion was deeded to the YMCA, which built and dedicated the YMCA building at 1300 College Street in 1960.

The Yolo County Archives cemetery folder for the Jewish Cemetery contains a plot map with some names.

Knight/Yolo Cemetery/Cacheville Cemetery

My research initially led me to believe that the Leonard Knight/Yolo/Cacheville Cemetery was a “family” cemetery located on the Knight ranch north of the town of Yolo. One research source indicated that the Knight family used the cemetery from 1852 until 1940, although Leonard Knight, who died in 1916, is buried at Mary’s Cemetery.

A Knight family member contacted me to let me know that this was not the Knight “family” cemetery but was actually the Cacheville Cemetery, which was used by the community prior to the opening of Mary's Cemetery and Chapel. The cemetery is located in the town of Yolo. Once Mary’s Cemetery was available, the Cacheville Cemetery was no longer used.

The following photographs were taken by a Knight descendant in early 2005.

David F. Schindler June 12, 1854-Oct. 4, 1860 Bertha M. Schindler Feb. 22, 1854-Aug. 20, 1853 Charles K. Schindler May 13, 1866-May 24, 1866

[ Return to List ]

Summit Cemetery or Logan Cemetery

This was the name of a cemetery near Guinda.

Parks Cemetery (A private, family cemetery)

The first person to be buried in the Parks Cemetery was Nancy Parks in 1886. Thin sandstone slabs were used in the little graveyard, but the inscriptions did not last through time. I do not know if any of these sandstone markers have survived. According to Ada Merhoff's book, Capay Valley - The Land - The People, 1846 - 1900, the Parks Cemetery was located “on a knoll across the road from the homesite.”

Pine Flat Cemetery

This was the oldest of the three cemeteries in Capay Valley, the other two being the Guinda Cemetery (that no longer exists) and the Capay Cemetery which is still in use. Reportedly, there are only remnants left on the Taber Ranch.

[Return to List]

St. Claire Cemetery

The St. Claire Cemetery was located on the Laurence Chalmers ranch near Knight's Landing.

St. Louis Family Cemetery

This small, family cemetery was located about one and one-half miles south of Knight’s Landing. At the time the report was written, it noted that there was no sign of a cemetery and that it was overgrown with brush and oak trees.

Union Cemetery and Church (today a part of the Woodland Cemetery)

In the fall of 1855, the people of Woodland built the small Union Church, which had a small graveyard next to the church building. The Woodland Cemetery Association, a public corporation, was organized in 1869. The trustees purchased 10 acres of land on the West side of the present day West Street, which included the old graveyard. Then the trustees arranged to sell the Union Church building. It is not known if the building was moved or destroyed. These 10 acres were the beginning of the present day Woodland Cemetery.

In Woodland - City of Trees - A History written by Shipley Walters, Ms. Walters wrote that Southern Wintun Indians may have lived on the land that is today the Woodland Cemetery as there used to be a seasonal stream at that location.

Yolo Cemetery (See Knight/Yolo/Cacheville Cemetery) above.)

[ Return to List ]