New Helvetia Cemetery (Defunct)

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The New Helvetia Cemetery was established by Captain John Sutter in 1849 in Sacramento contiguous to the Fort Sutter burying ground. It was in a low-lying area that constantly flooded. Most of the burials were in shallow graves with wooden markers. That same year residents adopted a city charter.

From 1850 to 1857 no burials took place due to flooding that persisted in the area. In 1857 the cemetery was purchased by J. W. Reese who maintained and beautified it. Burials resumed. The New Helvetia Cemetery, was located at the corner of 31st (now Alahambra Blvd.) and J Sts. The GPS location is 38° 34.373′ N, 121° 27.901′ W. Reeves eventually deeded the property to the city.

In 1916, most of the elaborate hand-carved monuments were replaced with flat concrete markers so the cemetery could be used as a park. The markers and monuments that existed were either taken away by family or by city residents who put them in their yards.

In 1917 the city purchased the Chinese portion of the cemetery and repatriated 1,000 Chinese remains to China. The city then removed many more tombstones and plaques. Poor city planning led to the theft, loss, or disposal of many markers.

In 1956, the city wanted the land to build Sutter Middle School, so the graves were moved. 4,685 "unknowns" were moved to a plot purchased by the city in East Lawn Cemetery, and about 400 "knowns" were moved to Sacramento Historic City Cemetery. A small number were moved by families to other locations. A historical marker now marks the site.

The original cemetery site is now a California Registered Historical Landmark (No. 592). The city passed an ordinance allowing residents to return markers and monuments taken from the cemetery without being charged with an offense in an effort to restore some of the grandeur of the cemetery and recognize the pioneers who built the city.

Sources

• New Helvetia Cemtery, Historical Marker Database
• Re-Internment Site For New Helvetia Cemetery, Historical Marker Database
• FindAGrave Cemetery #1982256
• CHL No. 592 New Helvetia Cemetery - Sacramento
• Genealogy Trails News Articles
• Map of Helvetia Cemetery, (very slow loading), A map surveying the New Helvetia Cemetery in 1915 by civil engineer Joseph Charles Boyd.
• Pioneer cemetery once sat at site of East Sacramento’s Sutter Middle School, Valley Community Newspapers, July 8, 2011
• Mystery of the Missing Markers, Valley Community Newspapers, July 20, 2011
• Family tombstone, missing for over half a century, discovered in Auburn, Valley Community Newspapers, May 16, 2012
• Historic Cemeteries Museum Seeks Artifacts; Amnesty for Grave Markers and Monuments, Sacramento County Cemetery Advisory Commission, 4800 Broadway, Sacramento CA 95820

Newspaper Articles

• New Helvetia Cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 23 Jun 1857, Tue., Page 3
• Mortality Report For The Month Of August, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 01 Sep 1857, Tue., Page 2
• New Helvetia Cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 09 Oct 1857, Fri., Page 3
• Bonds to the Cemeteries, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 17 Jan 1866, Wed., Page 2
• Helvetia Cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 24 Aug 1866, Fri., Page 3
• Deaths of July, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 01 Aug 1867, Sat., Page 3
• New Helvetia Cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 27 Aug 1877, Mon., Page 3
• Our Dead, Are They Properly Interred?, The Record-Union (Sacramento, California), 23 Aug 1883, Thu., Page 3
• New Helvetia Cemetery, The Record-Union (Sacramento, California), 12 May 1887, Thu., Page 3
• Chinese Worth $21 Per Head Even When Dead, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 18 Jun 1913, Wed., Page 3
• Claim To Cemetery Will Be Abandoned, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 24 Oct 1919, Fri., Page 8
• Park Site Was Cemetery Once, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 24 Apr 1937, Sat., Page 52
• City Draws Up Ordinance To Quit Cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 01 Apr 1954, Thu., Page 25
• Council May Act To Move Bodies From Cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 14 Sep 1955, Wed., Page 23
• 'Misplaced pioneers' of Sacramento honored at cemetery, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 11 Aug 1989, Fri., Page 27
• Archivist looks after long-deceased, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 27 Aug 1989, Sun., Pag 172
• Japanese dead honored, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 16 Aug 1990, Thu., Page 87
• Monument honors pioneer physician of early Sacramento, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 24 Jun 1999, Thu., Page 1