September 2015 - Old City Cemetery

SEPTEMBER 2015
VOLUME V, ISSUE 1II
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Inside A Mausoleum
The McCormick mausoleum is unique among structures in Sacramento’s
Historic City Cemetery. It is faced in white marble and was constructed in
the Egyptian Revival style popular during the nineteenth century. It stands
at the foot of West Cypress Avenue, visible from quite a distance as one
approaches. Many visitors are drawn to the small building which stands out
with a wreath on the front door.
The story of those in interred here is interesting and has been told by volunteer tour guides over the years. Mary McCormick Woolson had the
mausoleum constructed for her son John Green, who died in 1869 at the
young age of seventeen. It was constructed at a cost between $16,000—
$18,000, considerable at the time. After her death, Mrs. McCormick (as
she preferred to be known) was herself interred there. The story of her
marriages, divorces, brush with spiritualism and possible insanity over the
perceived poisoning of her son is for another time.
President’s
Message
2
Remembrances
3
Firefighter
Memorial
5
Great Fire of 1852
6
At the time of its construction, the mausoleum was built with two windows permitting light and air to fall within the space and the remains were placed in cast
iron caskets on shelving built into the walls. Over more than a century since construction, time, wind, and weather have gradually invaded the space.
Aftermath of the
Great Fire
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(Continued on page 4)
Assault & Battery
9
Upcoming History 9
Tours
Lantern Tours Are Coming
This year’s Lantern Tours went on sale to the public on September 1st. The
tours will be held on October 16-17 and October 23-24.
This is our primary fundraising event, the primary purpose of which is to fund
repair and stabilization of headstones and monuments throughout the cemetery.
In addition, some funds support the volunteer program with purchase of supplies
and equipment for Visitor Center and gardening volunteers.
Tickets may be purchased online or by phone from Brown Paper Tickets
(www.brownpapertickets.com) or 1-800-838-3006.
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President’s Message
Fall is upon us once again and
volunteers are working hard to
put the Lantern Tours together. I appreciate all those members and volunteers who work
hard to make our primary fundraiser a successful event. Each
year, there are more stones
and monuments that require
repair or stabilization and funds
raised in October keep this
project moving along.
As you know, the City has
made a number of internal and
organizational changes over the
past 18 months resulting in
some confusion of responsibilities and staff assignments. City
staff have worked hard to keep
OCCC members and volunteers informed of these changes
and new requirements as we
transition to our status on the
National Register of Historic
Places.
Thanks to all the volunteers who
attended the facilitated meeting
with City staff in August. Thanks
for speaking out about your concerns and questions. Airing our
issues with City staff gives us all
the opportunity to address them.
As we continue to work together,
I am confident that we will resolve issues and continue our support of this important historical
site.
I am encouraged by the efforts of
our many volunteers and heartened by the willingness of so
many who put in countless hours
on behalf of the Cemetery.
Thank you.
Connie Bettencourt, President
Old City Cemetery Committee
A Newsletter published by the Old
City Cemetery Committee, Inc.
Questions, comments, concerns to:
Judy Eitzen, Editor
[email protected]
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Remembrances
MARILYN FUQUA
Marilyn Fuqua passed away peacefully on July 23 at age 93 after suffering a stroke.
A third generation Californian, Marilyn’s family emigrated to Sacramento in the
1850’s which helped spark her interest in local history. She served as a WAC in
the US Army during WWII, stationed in England. She raised her family in Sacramento, serving as a volunteer in her children’s schools. While working for the
DOJ Crime Lab, she became actively involved in genealogical research and began
volunteering at the Historic City Cemetery. When the OCCC was established,
Marilyn served on the Board, focusing on archival research of burials and Sacramento history. More recently, she participated in an emeritus status, maintaining
her historical interests.
She was laid to rest in the cemetery she supported so ardently. A celebration of
Marilyn’s life will be held on Sunday, October 11 at 1 o’clock near the Fireman’s
Bell in the Historic City Cemetery. Friends and fellow volunteers are welcome.
MARILYN DEMAS
Marilyn Demas, former Cemetery volunteer and OCCC Board member, died
unexpectedly of heart failure on July 18 of this year. She was just 73. Originally from New York, Marilyn married husband Lou while he served in the US
Army, eventually relocating to California, where she raised her family and became interested in California history and genealogy. Marilyn was active in her
church, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Sacramento, serving on
various outreach committees and ministeries and was credited with founding
the church’s bookstore.
She published historical essays and wrote a small book on the African American struggle for equal education in early Sacramento. She was also active in
Old Sacramento’s Schoolhouse as a costumed “School Marm.” Both Marilyn
and Lou served on the Board of the Old City Cemetery Committee and volunteered for some years as costumed docents, leading Saturday tours and
participating in special events. One of her essays, “A Monumental Love Story” can be viewed on our website: www.oldcitycemetery.com.
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Mausoleum, continued...
(Continued from page 1)
In the 1990’s the mausoleum was entered and examined. Much of the cast iron had decayed and the remains needed to be secured after vandals had removed bars across the window spaces. At that time,
Plexiglas was fixed to the outside of both windows in
a misguided attempt to reduce the effects of weather
and vandals.
Plexiglas as it has led to further deterioration by
blocking air circulation. This spring, the vault was
again entered and photos were taken of conditions
inside. As the photos below show, the walls are in
sad condition and a number of loose marble pieces
possibly from the roof are stacked in one corner of
the vault.
The roof of the structure is not flat, but has a slight
pyramid shape designed to permit water to run off
into a channel away from the mausoleum. This has
resulted in the erosion of some of the earth behind
the building and various creatures (most recently feral
cats) have set up housekeeping under the building.
One thinks of a cemetery as a ‘permanent resting
place’ for loved ones, but nothing is permanent
without effort to make it so.
This beautiful mausoleum is in sad need of repair. The
Cemetery’s Master Plan calls for removal of the
Above: McCormick mausoleum
Above left: broken marble stacked
inside the vault.
Below left: Iron casket against brick
interior wall.
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Firefighter Memorial Observance—October 10
The first fire fighting organization on the West Coast was founded in Sacramento on February 5,
1850 and was called “Mutual Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1”. All members were volunteers. The following year, Sacramento organized a Fire Department and appointed Hiram Arents as Chief Engineer. Engine companies One, Two and Three were quickly organized by the Common Council.
By the late 1860’s, Sacramento’s Fire Department included six Engine companies, one Hose and one
Hook and Ladder Company with a membership of 405 firefighters. At that time, the Chief Engineer
earned a salary of $1,000 and was and elected by members of the Department. In 1865 an Exempt
Firemen’s Association of Sacramento was formed for benevolent and social purposes.
In recognition of the many firefighters who have lost their lives over the past 165 years, the 26th
annual Firefighter Memorial Program will be held on Saturday, October 10. Firefighters will muster
at Fire Station #5 on Broadway and march to the Firefighter’s Plot in the Historic City Cemetery.
At 9:30, a memorial ceremony will be held at that site.
Sponsors of the program include the Pioneer Mutual Hook & Ladder Society, Sacramento Area
Firefighters Local 522, Sacramento County Fire Chiefs and the West Sacramento Fire Department.
Sacramento Chemical Engine #3, circa 1920’s.
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6
The Great Fire of 1852
When the sun rose over Sacramento on November 2, 1852, it shown on a city that had been built almost without
planning and of any construction material available. It had grown from three or four log buildings in the spring of 1849
to a city of 13,680 people in less than three years. It was a canvas and wood city. Although there were a few buildings of brick, most were of wood, and several were still basically canvas tacked on a wooden frame. Another of Sacramento’s continuing series of floods had struck the previous winter, requiring some casual and quick re-building.
This was followed by a hot dry summer, which dried out the unseasoned pine lumber used in construction.
Despite Capt. John Sutter’s preference for a city sited east of the river, commerce along the river proved to be so
convenient that a business district had sprung up along the water and streets surveyed by the Army Corps of engineers were laid out right to Front Street where wharves and warehouses were built along the river. By 1852, businesses unrelated to river commerce – pharmacies, attorney offices, foundries and shops lined the streets in the blocks
just east of the river.
November 2, 1852 was Election Day in Sacramento. In the evening people filled the streets, waiting for judges to announce the results of local balloting, and shivering in a cold north wind of gale velocity. That evening Sacramento was
a town of seven thousand buildings--by Wednesday morning it was a town in ashes, with the entire business district
destroyed.
The fire originated around 11:30 p.m. in Madam Lanos’ millinery shop on the north side of J Street, two doors from
the corner of 4th. The building was almost completely in flames before the fire was even discovered. Wind spread
the fire quickly to many buildings some distance away before anyone even knew that a fire had started. The force of
the wind was so great on the night of the fire that live coals were borne almost to the cemetery, then about one mile
south of town. New brick buildings burned along with wood and canvas.
The blaze swept south-eastward, destroying almost every building in the city east of Fourth and J to Ninth street, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, the old Methodist Church and the new brick Methodist
Church (the costliest in California), as well as the fledgling Sacramento Mercantile Library located in rented quarters
inside the burned area.
Two days later, the Sacramento Daily Union published an account of
the fire: “The now uncontrollable enemy encircled in its resistless
folds the Crescent City Hotel and in another moment the building
from roof to basement was glowing like a furnace…The insidious foe
attached the magnificent Overton Bloc, four stories high, the largest,
most expensive and, as was supposed, the most thoroughly fire-proof
block in the city, but it sank like a grain before the reaper’s sickle…
Fiercely and terrifically did the raging billows hurl themselves against
their powerless enemy, man and his world…With but two or three
exceptions, every splendid edifice in the city has gone by the board,
including the Orleans Hotel and many other beautiful brick structures,
the pride and ornament of the City. Fully seven-eighths of the city
was destroyed. $10,000,000 will not cover the loss.”
Though few buildings of that time remain, the Lady Adams Building at
113 K Street still stands and houses Evangeline’s a very popular souve(Continued on page 7)
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Fire, continued...
(Continued from page 6)
nir, costume and party store. The building was named after a ship, The Lady Adams that brought goods and its
owners around the Horn and up the Sacramento River from Germany. Parts of the ship were used for the
original business. The brick building we see today survived the fire because of its heavy brick roofing.
Many residents who fought the fire are among those whose names and exploits have come down to us: Huntington, Hopkins, Crocker, Stanford. Collis P. Huntington, tried to save his brick building on K Street which
was erected the previous year at a cost of $12,000. He, his wife and store employees used wet blankets and
sacks and what water they could to battle the flames. In a letter sent to his brother, Huntington wrote, “…
the back counter was all on fire and I saw that no effort of mine could save it, and then I wrapped a wet blanket around…and left the store through a sheet of flames and saw the earnings of years consumed even to the
last dollar.” His loss was estimated in the newspaper as $50,000. Of the remaining men mentioned above,
Hopkins and Crocker both lost their stores, while Stanford & Brothers survived unscathed.
Almost immediately, Sacramentans rebuilt, taking advantage of many wooden buildings dismantled in San Francisco that were shipped upriver to be reassembled. Huntington, Hopkins, Crocker and many others skimped
and borrowed and put up new stores, hotels, liveries, warehouses and other businesses. The Union reported
during the first week of December that, “Trade pours its tributes through all the usual avenues and gives
promise to a more flourishing condition of things than before.” No one knew, however, that another disaster
was to strike that winter – a devastating flood – but that’s a story for another time.
That fire of 1852 has become a sort of landmark in Sacramento’s history. As the fire struck the business district at night, fortunately just four people were killed, but more than 85% of the city was destroyed and some
$10 million in loss and destruction was estimated. Today archaeologists working in the west end of the city
frequently find evidence of this fire in layers of charcoal and ashes a few inches thick. The great fire is one
reason why Sacramento has so few buildings dated prior to 1852.
References:
Daily Sacramento Union
Scott, James, Sacramento’s Gold Rush Saloons; El Dorado in a shot glass (2014, The History Press)
Secrest, William B. Junior and Senior, California Disasters—1800-1900 (2006, Craven Street Books)
Sacramento Public Library History files: Sacramento Room, Central Library
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Aftermath of the Great Fire
In the prose style of the day, the Sacramento Daily
Union, on November 6, just four days after the fire,
published an abbreviated newspaper which included
the following “we warned you” article:
The Fire.
We feel the utter impossibility of expressing to
our readers the effect of the dire calamity with
which we have been visited. Our fair city, whose
improvements were progressing at a rate unparalleled by any of the cities of California, has been
laid in ruins— our business men prostrated—
many of them irrecoverably ruined…such as to
bring sorrow to the hearts of thousands of our
citizens. Ordinarily, against such visitations,
there is no positive remedy, even where prudence
is aided by extreme caution. That prudence however, has not been exercised by the people generally of Sacramento. We have made it our duty to
call upon them to provide against an evil of this
kind. We told them where the danger existed, and
suggested a remedy. We foresaw that the breaking out of a fire would destroy the city, and said
so in plain language not a fortnight ago. So long
as the danger did not actually present itself, they
smiled at it and gave no heed to its coming. The
only marvel with us is, that the same event did
not occur before, for the city was at all times an
easy prey, and an ignited match cast into almost
any of the by-ways would have produced a general conflagration. We remind our readers of
these facts, not to reprove but admonish them that
those who invest money in buildings may see the
advantages of providing well against evils of this
kind in future. The tearing down of a few small
frame buildings might have saved the best portions of the burnt district, but it was impossible to
get at them. Generally, the whole surface of the
ground in their rear was glowing in heat and
flumes from the accumulated rubbish, rendering
operations in such vicinities impossible. The
manner in which frame houses have heretofore
been constructed in California, exposes them to
double risk from fire: As a substitute for plaster
and lathing, cotton fabrics; have been used;
which, at the simple touch of a lighted candle
fires up and burns like powder. Before ordinary
exertions can be used for quenching the flames,
they have completely enveloped those contending against them, destroying or driving them
for safety to flight. In all cases possible, so
flimsy a material for the interior construction
of houses should be avoided. It exposes whole
communities to the probability of conflagration.
Of merchandise, money, jewelry, and various
fabrics, but little was saved so rapid did the
flames spread themselves that those who discovered them coming in their direction, had
little time to carry off their effects: and when
they did so, in most cases it was but a removal
from one spot to abandon them at another. Our
own loss has been very considerable. We
doubt much whether $12,000 would cover it.
All our presses, with the exception of one small
cap press, were buried in the ruins of the falling
building; together with a very general and complete assortment of newspaper, job and fancy
type. Under such circumstances, we require the
indulgence of our patrons. In the course of few
days so soon as it is possible to secure the necessary articles and repairs, the Daily Union will
make its appearance in its usual style and dimensions. In the meantime, we shall endeavor
to render satisfaction to those whose business
orders we may receive.
The determination expressed by business men,
is to rebuild the city. With that intention, many
of the most enterprising are already clearing
away the ruins, and bringing lumber on the
ground. In less than a week, the vision— now
interrupted only by blackened walls and tottering chimneys—will be obstructed by the uprising of substantial buildings, constructed, we
hope, in a manner to diminish greatly the risks
incurred from fire. We admire this indomitable
courage. It is noble, and we say to our citizens,
God speed you in your efforts!
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Assault & Battery
We noticed, briefly, yesterday, an episode in married life, in which the husband inflicted a severe blow with a coffee cup on the forehead of his wife, resulting in a profuse effusion of blood, and the complete destruction of that
useful piece of table furniture. The husband, one Woods, having been arrested,
was arraigned for the offence before the
Recorder yesterday, on a charge of assault and battery, and plead guilty. In
lieu of appearing in propria personae, the injured party sent a
note to the Court, stating that her injuries were but trifling,
the quarrel wholly of a domestic nature, and that she did not
wish to appear against her husband, being, in fact, womanlike,
forgiving in her injuries. The case was taken under advisement by the Court till this morning.
Sacramento Daily Union, March 9, 1855
Upcoming History Tours
HISTORY TOURS are conducted by a dedicated group who identify and research the
Cemetery’s “permanent residents” with an eye to sharing their stories. With more than
30,000 burials, there are many more stories to tell. Each tour focuses on a particular
group of individuals, each of whom played a role in the early history of our community.
Tours begin near the 10th Street gate at 10 o’clock. Volunteers donate their time and expertise for these free tours; donations are encouraged. Fall History Tours:
September 5: A Dozen New Ways To Die
September 12—Tragic, Triumphant & True Tales of Education
September 26—Bosses of the Boneyard
October 3—Temperance & Prohibition
November 7—Freedom Calling
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Old City Cemetery
Committee, Inc.
1000 Broadway
Sacramento, CA 95818
916-448-0811
Mission Statement
To join hands with the community to restore,
beautify, preserve and protect the Historic
City Cemetery, while maintaining access by
descendants of the deceased, and to provide
educational services to all visitors to the
Historic City Cemetery of Sacramento.
We’re On the Web
www.oldcitycemetery.com