SMP is the oldest American non-sectarian and historic cemetery in Southern California. The cemetery represents the first Euro-American, protestant cemetery established in southern California, and contains the graves of several of the first United States citizens to settle the region. The park has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1850. Some of the burials may date back into the 1840s before Savannah Memorial Park became a Memorial Park.
By street view, this cemetery looks like an ordinary park. But a closer inspection reveals history hidden in plain sight. Wicked cool! Overall, this is an interesting landmark rich in history.
January 2023
This is my second time going to visit this cemetery, it's so peaceful and it's old but it definitely has character. After the rain everything is so green and full.. love looking at the tombstone and reading the history of some of the people buried there, very interesting. Some of the gravestones are damaged but they look like they are trying to restore most of them
December 2022
The history of this cemetery is astounding. I sometimes forget that we do actually have historical sites like this in Southern California. I would highly recommend spending an hour here walking around to read the plaques erected by the historical center - what a great work they did! We learned so much about the history of this area and had a lot of laughs thinking about days gone by. This cemetery is also quiet and secluded. It’s definitely not well kept, which makes sense given the average age of most of these graves. I’d advise wearing sneakers or good walking shoes that can handle piles of leaves and such. Also, we were pretty sure that the “operating hours”... read full review
SMP is the oldest American non-sectarian and historic cemetery in Southern California. The cemetery represents the first Euro-American, protestant cemetery established in southern California, and contains the graves of several of the first United States citizens to settle the region. The park has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1850. Some of the burials may date back into the 1840s before Savannah Memorial Park became a Memorial Park.
By street view, this cemetery looks like an ordinary park. But a closer inspection reveals history hidden in plain sight. Wicked cool! Overall, this is an interesting landmark rich in history.
This is my second time going to visit this cemetery, it's so peaceful and it's old but it definitely has character. After the rain everything is so green and full.. love looking at the tombstone and reading the history of some of the people buried there, very interesting. Some of the gravestones are damaged but they look like they are trying to restore most of them
The history of this cemetery is astounding. I sometimes forget that we do actually have historical sites like this in Southern California. I would highly recommend spending an hour here walking around to read the plaques erected by the historical center - what a great work they did! We learned so much about the history of this area and had a lot of laughs thinking about days gone by. This cemetery is also quiet and secluded. It’s definitely not well kept, which makes sense given the average age of most of these graves. I’d advise wearing sneakers or good walking shoes that can handle piles of leaves and such. Also, we were pretty sure that the “operating hours”... read full review