Mount Hope Cemetery (San Diego) facts for kids

Mount Hope Cemetery is a special place in San Diego, California. It's a large cemetery located at 3751 Market Street. The area around it is even named after the cemetery, called Mount Hope. It's also right next to another cemetery called Greenwood Memorial Park.

A Look Back: History of Mount Hope

Mount Hope Cemetery was started in 1869. Back then, it was on the edge of what was called "New Town" in San Diego. Today, this cemetery covers about 115 acres (which is about 0.47 square kilometers).

The cemetery was designed like a "Rural cemetery." This means it has beautiful landscaping, interesting architecture, and art. It's meant to be a peaceful and scenic place. The city of San Diego takes care of the entire cemetery. They make sure all the burial sites are always looked after.

The rolling hills and grounds of Mount Hope Cemetery hold many important monuments. These monuments honor some of San Diego's most famous citizens. Many founding fathers, pioneers, and other important people are buried here.

Famous People Buried Here

Many interesting and important people from history are buried at Mount Hope Cemetery. Here are a few of them:

• E. S. Babcock (1848–1922): He was a real estate expert who helped build the famous Hotel del Coronado.
• Samuel Brannan (1819–1889): An early pioneer who was part of the Mormon movement. He became the first millionaire during the California Gold Rush and was involved in San Francisco's first city council.
• Hick Carpenter (1855–1937): An American baseball player.
• Benjamin T. Frederick (1834–1903): A politician, miner, and real estate agent from Iowa and California.
• Charles T. Hinde (1832–1915): An important businessman and riverboat captain. He was one of the first investors in the Hotel del Coronado.
• Alonzo Horton (1813–1909): He is known as the founder of modern San Diego. A famous area, Horton Plaza, is named after him.
• Alta M. Hulett (1854–1877): She was one of the very first female attorneys in America.
• John F. Kinney (1816–1902): An American attorney, judge, and politician.
• George Marston (1850–1946): He played a big part in creating Balboa Park, the San Diego Public Library System, and the Serra Museum.
• Kate Morgan (1865–1892): An Iowa woman who died at the Hotel del Coronado. Some people believe her spirit still haunts the hotel.
• Kate Sessions (1857–1940): A pioneering plant expert in San Diego. She helped introduce many plants to the city.
• Matthew Sherman (1827–1898): A land developer and early San Diego pioneer. He also served as mayor of San Diego from 1891 to 1893.
• Walter R. Taliaferro (1880–1915): An early aviator, meaning he was one of the first people to fly airplanes.
• Thomas Whaley (1823–1890): An early settler in San Diego.
• Robert Waterman (1826–1891): He served as the Governor of California from 1887 to 1891.
• Thomas Waterson (1895–1947): A member of the Memphis Police Department. He was involved in capturing a famous criminal known as Machine Gun Kelly in 1933.

There is also one British Commonwealth war grave here. It belongs to an officer from the Royal Air Force who served during World War I.