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Revision as of 19:24, 4 January 2025 by Issac I Navarro (talk | contribs) (→Notable burials)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Ex-cemetery, now public park, in California| Pioneer Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Mission Hills, San Diego, California, United States |
| Nearest city | San Diego, California |
| Coordinates | 32°44′57″N 117°10′39″W / 32.7492°N 117.1776°W / 32.7492; -117.1776 |
| Established | 1870s (as Calvary Cemetery); 1970s (as public park) |
| Operated by | City of San Diego |
| Open | 6 a.m. to dusk |
| City | San Diego |
| Website | Official website |
Pioneer Park is a public park in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego, California. Originally established in the 1870s as Calvary Cemetery, it served as a Catholic burial ground before being repurposed as a public park in the 1970s. Despite the removal of most headstones, the remains of the cadavers are still beneath the grounds.
History
Calvary Cemetery
Pioneer Park began as Calvary Cemetery in the 1870s, providing burial grounds primarily for Catholic residents of San Diego. The cemetery remained active until the mid-20th century.
Conversion to a park
By the 1970s, the cemetery had fallen into neglect. The City of San Diego removed most of the headstones to transform the area into a public park.
Features
Pioneer Park has grassy areas, eucalyptus trees, and elements that preserve what was there before. Other notable features of the park include:
- A memorial row of preserved headstones commemorating its history of the once was cemetery.
- A children’s playground for recreational use.
- Tennis courts located across the street from the main park area.
Paranormal claims
Pioneer Park is reputed to be haunted, with reports of spectral apparitions and unexplained phenomena. These stories have made the park a point of interest for paranormal enthusiasts.
Notable burials
Several prominent individuals and families are interred at the site from its time as Calvary Cemetery. Among them are members of the Bandini family, known for their ownership of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant.\
| Name | Birth Date | Death Date | Notable Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Juan Bandini | Married to Maria de los Dolores Estudillo; | ||
| Father Antonio Ubach | Also buried at the site is Father Antonio Ubach, a Roman Catholic priest who served as the parish priest in Old Town San Diego for 23 years beginning in 1860. | ||
| Charles Francis Walsh | 1877 | 1912 | American pioneer aviator, built one of California's first airplanes, died in a crash in 1912. |
| Peter C. Shannon | 1821 | 1899 | Peter C. Shannon (1821–1899) was an American judge and politician who served as Chief Justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court. He presided over the trial of Jack McCall, leading to the territory's first legal hanging. Shannon died after a carriage accident. |
| Jesse Wilbur Ames | 1807 | 1866 | Jesse Wilbur Ames (1807–1866), a San Diego pioneer, arrived in 1820 as a sailor and later became a Catholic, allowing him to own property.. Ames played a role in the Mexican-American War, served as Mayor of San Diego, presidents of the Board of Trustees, and later owned Rancho Cañada de los Coches. |
| John (Jack) Stewart, | 1892 | Participated in the Battle of San Pasqual, shipmate to Richard Henry Dana. | |
| Rosa Machado | 1898 | Wife of John (Jack) Stewart. | |
| William John Collard | |||
| Leon Gomez | |||
| Richard Kerren | |||
| Sir Albert Vincent Mayrhofer | |||
| Ysidora Bandini de Couts | Married Cave J. Couts; daughter of Don Juan Bandini. | ||
| George Patrick Brennan | |||
| Marco Bruschi | |||
| Andrew Cassidy | |||
| James Waterman Connors | |||
| Cave J. Couts | 1874 | The Couts family, who owned Rancho Guajome Adobe. Cave J. Couts arrived in San Diego following the Mexican–American War to assist with mapping the border between the United States and Mexico. He was originally buried in the Old Town Cemetery in 1874. He married Ysidora Bandini | |
| William Blount Couts | |||
| Dr. David Bancroft Hoffman | |||
| George Alonzo Johnson | |||
| George Lyons | |||
| Juana de Dios Machado de Wrightington | |||
| Henry C. Magee | |||
| Charles E. May | |||
| Anton Mayrhofer | |||
| Maria Amparo Maytorena de Burton | 1836 | 13 Aug 1895 (aged 58–59) | |
| James McCoy | |||
| Benjamin Franklin Parsons | |||
| Maria Victoria de Pedrorena de Magee | |||
| Miguel de Pedrorena | |||
| Luis Antonio Serrano | |||
| Anton Sonka | |||
| John Collins Stewart | |||
| Maria Serafina de la Luz Valdez de Machado | 1788 | 1861 | |
| Dr. Charles Carpentier Valle | |||
| Tony Barbarich | |||
| Angelo Boffelli | |||
| Leonora Casillo de Martinez | |||
| Daniel Cavanaugh, aka Daniel Cassidy | |||
| Caroline Derenbecker | 28 Jan 1853
Germany |
3 Mar 1909 (aged 56) | |
| Inez Estrada | |||
| Alice Gragg, aka Alice Greenwood | |||
| Anna Guglielmetti | |||
| Lottie Leidenberger Hans | |||
| William M. Kerren | |||
| Luis Lopez | |||
| Felipe San Martin | |||
| Agnes McCormick | |||
| Asunta Tonini Morris | |||
| Andrew Quinlan | |||
| William V. Trimmer | |||
| James Henry Ward | |||
| Hans Hugo Herman Heink | 1887 | 1916 | Mother Ernestine Schumann-Heink |
| John S. Minter | |||
| William R. Moak | |||
| Timothy Ryan | |||
| D. Archibald | Catholic priest. | ||
| Henry J. Baert | Catholic priest. | ||
| Louis Alphonse Dabande | Catholic priest. | ||
| G. Heirrewegh | Catholic priest. | ||
| Patrick Honohan | Catholic priest. | ||
| Josef M. LeCerf | Catholic priest. | ||
| Henry Charles Lehrke | Catholic priest. | ||
| Patrick McGreevy | Catholic priest. | ||
| Dennis E. Meara | Catholic priest. | ||
| Joseph T. Nunan | Catholic priest. | ||
| Cornelius L. O'Brien | Catholic priest. | ||
| Cornelius O'Hanlon | Catholic priest. | ||
| Luciana Osuna | Catholic priest. | ||
| John J. Reardon | Catholic priest. | ||
| Bernard Smyth | Catholic priest. | ||
| Francis Joseph Swift | Catholic priest. | ||
| Sister Mary Regis Beirne | Catholic nun. | ||
| Alice Cooney, aka Sister Mary Dolores | Catholic nun. | ||
| Sister Mary Nazarene of Jesus Dean | Catholic nun. (moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1919) | ||
| Mary M. Holland, aka Sister Mary | Catholic nun. | ||
| Catherine Kelleher, aka Sister Mary Teresa | Catholic nun. | ||
| Patricia McDermott, Sister Mary Teresa | Catholic nun. | ||
| Anne McDonald, aka Sister Germaine | Catholic nun. (moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1919) | ||
| Catherine Monroe, aka Sister Mary Regina | Catholic nun. | ||
| Sister Mary Dolores O'Boyle | Catholic nun. | ||
| Sister Teresa Ortiz | Catholic nun. (moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1919) | ||
| Mary Josephine Smith, aka Mother Mary Josephine | Catholic nun | ||
| Catherine Sutherland | Catholic nun |
See also
References
- "1940 Aerial View of Pioneer Park Cemetery | City of San Diego Official Website". sandiego.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- ^ Ghosts and Gravestones - Pioneer Park
- Dotinga, Randy (2010-11-24). "Fact Check: The Bodies Beneath a San Diego Park". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "Pioneer Park - From Sacred Space to Soccer Field". 2011-07-24. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- Speciale, Gina (2007-03-15). "SDSU Professor Unearths the Buried Tales". www.sdsu.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- Dotinga, Randy (2018-10-31). "Spooky San Diego: Bodies Lie Beneath as We Walk, Play and Shop". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- Page •, Eric S. (2022-10-27). "Corpse Pride: We Know Where the Bodies Are Buried This Halloween, San Diego". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- Jeannie (2020-10-21). "Pioneer Park". Parks in San Diego. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "Mission Hills Park Calvary Pioneer Memorial Park aka Pioneer Park cemetery ghost haunt". San Diego Haunted Locations. 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "Pioneer Park May Haunt You – at Least with its Stories". SDNews.com. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "Pioneer Park may haunt you – at least with its stories". 2010-11-21. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "The Glory Years, 1865-1899". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "Charles F. Walsh". www.earlyaviators.com. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Richard Kerren". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Cave Johnson Couts (1821-1874)". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Andrew Cassidy". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Pages From the Diary of Cave Johnson Couts". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
- "Part Six: Chapter IV: GROWTH OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION | San Diego History Center". www.sandiegohistory.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Dr. David Bancroft Hoffman (1824-1888)". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "George Lyons". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "James McCoy (1821- )". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Victoria Pedrorena An 1879 Teacher in the Fall Brook District – Fallbrook Historical Society". Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "Lemon Grove Historical Society – Your story begins at home…". Lemon Grove Historical Society. 2024-12-08. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- "The Machado-Stewart Family and Their Home". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2025-01-04.