Colma, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Colma, California
Town
Holy Cross Cemetery
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  "It's great to be alive in Colma"
Location of Colma in San Mateo County, California
Colma, California Location in San Francisco Show map of San Francisco Colma, California Location in San Francisco Bay Area Show map of San Francisco Bay Area Colma, California Location in California Show map of California Colma, California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Mateo
Incorporated as "Lawndale"	August 5, 1924
Name changed to "Colma"	November 17, 1941
Area
• Total	1.89 sq mi (4.90 km2)
• Land	1.89 sq mi (4.90 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0%
Elevation	121 ft (37 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,507
• Density	796.93/sq mi (307.78/km2)
	United States Census Bureau
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	94014
Area code(s)	650
FIPS code	06-14736
GNIS feature ID	1658303
Website	www.colma.ca.gov

Colma is a small town in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The name "Colma" comes from an Ohlone word meaning "springs."

In 2020, about 1,507 people lived in Colma. The town was officially started in 1924. A very interesting fact about Colma is that most of its land is used for cemeteries. Because of this, the number of people buried there (around 1.5 million) is much, much larger than the number of people who are alive. This is why Colma is often called "the City of the Silent." The town even has a funny motto: "It's great to be alive in Colma."

What Does "Colma" Mean?

The most common idea for the name "Colma" is that it comes from an Ohlone word. This word means "springs" or "many springs."

There are other ideas about where the name came from. Before 1872, the area was known as "Station" or "School House Station."

Colma's History

The community of Colma began in the 1800s. It was a group of homes and small shops along El Camino Real. It was also near the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad line. Early churches, like Holy Angels Catholic Church, were built here. The community also started its own fire department.

In the early 1900s, a man named Heinrich von Kempf moved his plant nursery to Colma. He needed more space for his growing business. Von Kempf helped turn the Colma community into an official farming town. He became Colma's first treasurer.

Colma was also a popular place for big boxing matches in the early 20th century. Famous boxers like Stanley Ketchel and Jack Johnson fought here.

A panoramic view of Colma, California, looking down from San Bruno Mountain

Why So Many Cemeteries?

Colma became home to many cemeteries because of a rule in San Francisco. In 1900, San Francisco stopped allowing new burials inside its city limits. Then, in 1912, it decided to move most of the existing cemeteries out of the city.

Between 1920 and 1941, about 150,000 bodies were moved to Colma. This cost about $10 for each grave and marker. Many of these bodies came from the Lone Mountain Cemetery in San Francisco. If no one paid the fee, the remains were reburied in large shared graves. The old grave markers were sometimes used for other things in San Francisco. For example, some were used as drain gutters or to help build breakwaters near the St. Francis Yacht Club. You can even see them at low tide on Ocean Beach.

The main train line that ran through Colma was later used to move coffins. Years later, this same path was bought by BART for its train extension to San Francisco International Airport.

The town was first officially named Lawndale in 1924. This was mainly done by the cemetery owners. However, another city in California was already called Lawndale. So, the post office kept the name Colma. In 1941, the town officially changed its name back to Colma.

Aerial view of Colma, from the south. San Francisco is in the distance. The large green area in the front is part of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park.

Famous People Buried in Colma

Many famous people who died in San Francisco are buried or reburied in Colma. Here are some of them:

• Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
  • William Henry Crocker, a rich businessman
  • Charles de Young, who started the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper
  • Phineas Gage, a famous person from the 1800s known for a medical case
  • William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper tycoon
  • Ed Lee, the first Asian American Mayor of San Francisco
  • Willie McCovey, a baseball Hall of Famer
• Hills of Eternity Memorial Park and Home of Peace Cemetery (Jewish cemeteries)
  • Wyatt Earp, a famous lawman, is buried next to his wife, Josephine Marcus Earp
  • Levi Strauss, who created denim trousers
• Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Joseph Alioto, a San Francisco mayor
  • Pat Brown, a governor of California
  • Beniamino Bufano, a sculptor known for peace monuments
  • Joe DiMaggio, a famous baseball player for the New York Yankees
  • A.P. Giannini, who founded Bank of America
  • Vince Guaraldi, a jazz musician
  • Capt. Michael A. Healy, a U.S. government officer
  • James D. Phelan, a senator
• Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery
  • Emperor Norton, a San Francisco celebrity from the late 1800s
• Eternal Home Cemetery (Jewish Cemetery)
  • Bill Graham, a music promoter
• Greek Orthodox Memorial Park
  • George Christopher, a San Francisco mayor
• Serbian Cemetery
  • Boris Pash, a Russian-American military officer
• Greenlawn Memorial Cemetery
  • James Rolph, a San Francisco mayor and governor of California
• Japanese Cemetery
  • George Shima, a businessperson

Businesses in Colma

Aerial view of Colma, facing north. 280 Metro Center is in the lower center.

At first, most people in Colma worked in jobs related to the many cemeteries. But since the 1980s, Colma has grown to have many different types of businesses. Now, there are lots of stores and car dealerships. These businesses bring in more money for the town government through sales taxes. In 1986, the 280 Metro Center opened in Colma. It was one of the first large shopping centers of its kind.

Cemeteries in Colma

Name	Image	Founded	Community	Size	Notes
Tung Sen		?	Chinese	?	These four cemeteries are actually in Daly City, next to Cypress Lawn.
Hoy Sun		?	Chinese	?
Chinese Christian		?	Chinese	?
Russian Sectarian		?	Russian	?
Holy Cross		Jun 3, 1887	Roman Catholic	?	The Holy Cross Mausoleum is where many Archbishops of San Francisco are buried.
Home of Peace		Jan 1, 1889	Jewish	20 acres (8.1 ha)	This cemetery is in the northern part of the area.
Hills of Eternity				20 acres (8.1 ha)	This cemetery is in the southern part of the area.
Salem		Dec 20, 1891		Jewish	17 acres (6.9 ha)
Cypress Lawn		1892	For all faiths	148 acres (60 ha)	This cemetery is split into two parts by El Camino Real.
Mount Olivet		1896		65 acres (26 ha)	This cemetery is now part of Cypress Lawn.
Italian		1899	Italian	35 acres (14 ha)
Serbian		1901	Christian Orthodox	16 acres (6.5 ha)
Japanese		Jun 1901	Japanese	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Eternal Home		Jul 1901	Jewish	25 acres (10 ha)	It also has a special garden for remembering the Jewish community.
Greenlawn		1903	For all faiths	47 acres (19 ha)
Woodlawn		Oct 29, 1904	For all faiths	92 acres (37 ha)	It was originally smaller.
Sunset View		1907	For all faiths	?	This site is now used for Cypress Hills Golf Course.
Greek Orthodox		1935	Eastern Orthodox	8 acres (3.2 ha)	It was officially opened in April 1936.
Pets Rest		1947	For pets	5 acres (2.0 ha)
Hoy Sun		1988	Chinese	8 acres (3.2 ha)	This land was once part of the Cypress Hills Golf Course.
Golden Hills		Feb 23, 1994	Chinese	14 acres (5.7 ha)	This land was also acquired from the Cypress Hills Golf Course.

Geography and Land

Colma covers an area of about 1.9 square miles (4.9 square kilometers). All of this area is land. About 73% of the town's land is used for its 17 cemeteries. Colma is next to Daly City to the north and west. It borders South San Francisco to the south. To the east, it is next to San Bruno Mountain State Park.

Colma is located on the San Francisco Peninsula. It sits in a low area between San Bruno Mountain and the northern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. A creek called Colma Creek flows through the town. It goes from San Bruno Mountain to San Francisco Bay.

Getting Around Colma

BART trains serve Colma with two stations: Colma station and South San Francisco station. You can also use SamTrans buses for public transportation in the city.

There are three main roads that go north and south through Colma. These are Junipero Serra Boulevard, El Camino Real, and Hillside Boulevard. They are all connected by Serramonte Boulevard, which runs through the middle of Colma.

Schools in Colma

Colma has one private school, Holy Angels School. This is a Catholic school for students from preschool to 8th grade.

For public schools, Colma is part of the Jefferson Elementary School District. It has two schools in Colma: Garden Village Elementary (for grades K–5) and Benjamin Franklin Intermediate (for grades 6–8). Most high school students from Colma go to Westmoor High School.

Population Facts

In 2006, people often said that Colma had about 1,500 living residents. They also said it had 1.5 million people buried underground!

2010 Census Information

The 2010 United States Census showed that Colma had 1,792 people. The population density was about 938.6 people per square mile.

Here's a look at the different groups of people living in Colma in 2010:

• White: 34.6%
• African American: 3.3%
• Native American: 0.4%
• Asian: 34.5%
• Pacific Islander: 0.5%
• Other races: 20.4%
• Two or more races: 6.3%

People who identified as Hispanic or Latino made up 39.5% of the population.

Most people (98.4%) lived in homes. About 21.8% of the population was under 18 years old. The average age in Colma was 36.4 years.

2000 Census Information

In the census of 2000, there were 1,191 people living in Colma. The population density was about 624.6 people per square mile.

About 24.7% of the people were under 18 years old. The average age was 37 years. The median income for a household in Colma was about US$58,750.

See also

In Spanish: Colma (California) para niños