San Mateo County Cemeteries: St. Johns

All photograph's courtesy of Russ Brabec 2013

Entrance

Tucked away in the hills of San Mateo lies one of the oldest cemeteries in the county.  The land was donated in 1885 by Abby Parrot in memory of her husband who had died the year before.

ST. JOHN’S CEMETERY

GIVEN TO

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

OF SAN MATEO

IN MEMORY

OF JOHN PARROTT

BORN IN VIRGINIA

APRIL 16, 1811

DIED IN CALIFORNIA 

MARCH 29, 1884  

         (inscription west side of Parrot Mausoleum)  

Parrot Mausoleum

The cemetery which is located at 910 Oregon Ave, is open to the public from 9am to 5 pm daily.


The link to the cemetery website was not working on Aug 10 and the notice indicates it has been down for nearly a month.  If it becomes viable again or a new site goes online, the old domain should probably work.  You will find a link on the cemetery page on the San Mateo County First Families Blog.  You will also find a link to a map there to help you find the cemetery.

Among the treasures you will find in the cemetery is the unmarked mausoleum of Agness Poett Howard Bowie.  There are also memorials for many Parrot family members whether they were buried in the cemetery or not.

St. John's Cemetery - Find A Grave lists 2888 burials with about 38% photographed.  Tim Conroy read the entire cemetery in 2004 and the listing is available on Interment.net and USGenWebArchives.

The San Mateo County Community College District is offering a class by Michael Svanevik in September entitled Underground San Mateo - A subterranean look at St. John's Cemetery.

READ MORE:

Cemetery Brochure

• Hidden Treasures in San Mateo County: St. John's Cemetery - San Mateo County Library
• Discovering San Mateo's Hidden Cemetery - Daily Journal (Parrot family history)
• Sally McBurney's  Photos on Flickr (check out her other photo sets from around the Bay Area)
• Spookiest Cemeteries in the Bay Area - SF Gate