Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) facts for kids
Millionaire's Row, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California
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| Details | |
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| Established | 1863 |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Size | 226 acres (91 ha) |
| No. of graves | > 24,000 |
The Mountain View Cemetery is a large, beautiful cemetery in Oakland, California. It covers about 226 acres, which is like 170 football fields! It was started in 1863 by a group of pioneers from the East Bay area. They followed a special law from 1859 that allowed rural cemeteries. The same group still runs the cemetery today.
A famous landscape architect named Frederick Law Olmsted designed Mountain View. He also designed New York City's Central Park and parts of UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Many important people from California's history are buried here because of Olmsted's reputation. You can see many grand tombs, especially along "Millionaires' Row." This area has amazing views of the San Francisco Bay. Because it's so beautiful and has so much history, the cemetery is a popular place for visitors. Guided tours started in 1970.
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Exploring the Design of Mountain View Cemetery
Frederick Law Olmsted wanted this cemetery to show how people and nature can live together in peace. In the 1800s, many people in England and America believed that park-like cemeteries, like Mountain View, offered a peaceful natural setting. They thought this was a place where a person's spirit could return to nature. Olmsted used ideas from American Transcendentalism, which is a belief in the goodness of people and nature. He combined these ideas with grand monuments and wide paths, similar to those found in Paris.
Right next to Mountain View Cemetery are Saint Mary Cemetery and the Chapel of the Chimes. The Chapel of the Chimes is a large building for burials and storing ashes.
Famous People Buried Here
Many interesting people are buried at Mountain View Cemetery. Some are famous in California, while others are known around the world.
Leaders and Government Officials
- Washington Bartlett: He was the Mayor of San Francisco and later the Governor of California.
- William M. Gwin: One of California's very first U.S. Senators.
- Henry H. Haight: He served as the Governor of California from 1867 to 1871.
- William Knowland: A U.S. Senator and the publisher of the Oakland Tribune newspaper.
- Romualdo Pacheco: He was the Governor of California in 1875.
- George Pardee: Another Governor of California, serving from 1903 to 1907.
- George C. Perkins: He was both a Governor of California and a U.S. Senator.
Inventors and Business Builders
- Warren A. Bechtel: He founded the huge Bechtel construction company.
- Anthony Chabot: Known as the "Water King," he helped develop hydraulic mining and supported the Chabot Space & Science Center.
- Charles Crocker: A powerful railroad builder and banker.
- J. A. Folger: He started the famous Folgers Coffee company.
- Domingo Ghirardelli: The person behind the delicious Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.
- Henry J. Kaiser: He was a key figure in modern American shipbuilding.
- Joe Shoong: An immigrant from China who founded the National Dollar Stores chain.
- Francis Marion Smith: Known as the "Borax King" for his work in mining borax.
Military Heroes
- John Coffee Hays: A famous Texas Ranger and San Francisco's first sheriff.
- Eli L. Huggins: An Indian Wars soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
- Henry T. Johns: An American Civil War soldier and another Medal of Honor recipient.
- Oscar Fitzalan Long: An Indian Wars soldier who also earned the Medal of Honor.
- Obediah Summers: A formerly enslaved person who served in the 18th United States Colored Infantry Regiment.
Artists and Creative Minds
- Ina Coolbrith: California's very first poet laureate, a special honor for a poet.
- Thomas Hill: A well-known artist.
- William Keith: A famous California landscape artist.
- Bernard Maybeck: An important architect.
- Julia Morgan: A pioneering architect, known for designing many buildings in California.
- Frank Norris: A notable author.
- Douglas Tilden: A talented sculptor.
Local History Makers
- David Douty Colton: A vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The city of Colton, California is named after him.
- Henry Durant: The first president of the University of California, Berkeley.
- Virginia Prentiss: An African-American midwife and nanny to the famous writer Jack London.
- Jane K. Sather: She donated money for Sather Gate and Sather Tower at the University of California, Berkeley.
- John Swett: He is known as the founder of the California Public School System.
- Charles Lee Tilden: Tilden Regional Park is named in his honor.
Other Notable Individuals
- Glenn Burke: He was the first openly gay player in Major League Baseball.
- Henry D. Cogswell: A dentist who supported the temperance movement.
- Marcus Foster: The first Black Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District.
- David Hewes: He provided the "Golden Spike" that completed the first transcontinental railroad.
- Bobby Hutton: The first treasurer of the Black Panther Party.
- Fred Korematsu: He bravely challenged a government order in a famous Supreme Court case.
- Joseph LeConte: A co-founder of the Sierra Club, which works to protect nature.
- Ernie Lombardi: A Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player.
- Elizabeth Short: A person whose Hollywood murder remains unsolved.
- Lee Ya-Ching: Known as China's First Lady of Flight, she was a pioneering female pilot.
