Cemeteries in Santa Rosa remind visitors of the past

  • 2014-07-22
For families looking for something different to put on the holiday postcard printing this year, the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery is conducting walking tours throughout the summer – some of which include re-enactments dedicated to some of the cemetery’s more famous residents.

The graveyard was originally privately owned, but went bankrupt during the Depression, which caused the site to fall into a dilapidated state, according to the Press Democrat. Vandalism and neglect inevitably took their toll.

It wasn’t until the City of Santa Rosa took over the graveyard in 1979 that things started to improve. Volunteers began to trim overgrown weeds, arrange for the adoption of grave sites, and began giving tours to raise funding for the cemetery’s restoration and preservation.

The cemetery gives walking tours in August and September that explore the carvings and symbols on the headstones, most of which date between the early 1800s and the 1950s.

On August 9th, a set of tours will introduce the more well-known of the cemetery’s residents, such as Colonel James Armstrong, a veteran of the Civil War who donated many acres to the Armstrong Woods State Preserve.

On September 19th and 20th, the Lamplight Tours of the Rural Cemetery includes eight original performances acted out next to graves where the different people were buried. The Press Democrat warns that these tours tend to sell out early, and also that new acts are performed each year.