Verdugo Hills Cemetery facts for kids

The Verdugo Hills of Peace Pioneer Cemetery, or Verdugo Hills Cemetery, located in Tujunga, Los Angeles, California, opened in 1922 and closed in 1976.

History

The Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources describes the four-acre cemetery:

Established by Marshall Valentine Hartranft, who also founded the utopian community of Tujunga, the cemetery reflects the early history of its community and holds the remains of many early Tujunga residents. The site is located on hilly terrain, affording a panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley, and is home to several distinctive types of trees.

By the early 1970s the cemetery had fallen into disrepair, according to the Los Angeles Times, and lost its license in 1976.

Verdugo Hills Cemetery landslide, 1978

On February 10, 1978, after days of torrential rains, a massive landslide occurred in the San Gabriel Mountains foothills above Tujunga. The result was the unearthing of a large section of the cemetery. The rain had been pouring into holes made by gophers and saturated the earth. When the slope gave way, rotted caskets broke open, and their contents were carried away.

The resulting task of trying to identify the remains and rebury them under their correct markers is documented in the book Coroner by Thomas Noguchi. The City of Los Angeles repaired the grounds, but heavy rain unearthed more corpses in 1980.

Restoration

Friends of Verdugo Hills Cemetery are volunteering every 3rd Saturday of the month in effort to renew and restore the cemetery.