Abandoned Cemetery: Purissima in Half Moon Bay

The town of Purissima was founded around 1860 and is located four miles south of Half Moon Bay. On September 15, 1868, prominent resident John Purcell deeded some of his property to the citizens of Purissima for a burial ground and the Purissima Cemetery was created with free burials to be provided to Purissima residents… By the 1930’s, the town of Purissima was abandoned. Other than an old schoolhouse and a cemetery and creek tucked away in the brush, there is no evidence of activity in this nestled away forgotten city of San Mateo County. No one is 100% sure as to what lead up Purissima into ghost town status; it is theorized to be a mix of difficulty in farming (it was too far out of the way) and the majority of prominent citizens all passing away around the same time period.

This cemetery is extremely difficult to find. Parts of the cemetery offer beautiful ocean views but the cemetery has been swallowed up by weeds, trees and poison oak and snakes and therefore dangerous to navigate through. In recent years, Purissima has been the focus of much attention, particularly “ghost hunting” groups. Perhaps this has something to do with the tale of the cemetery's first interment, a boy (whose name is recorded only as Downing) who reportedly fell ill and was buried alive. According to legend boy was only unconscious; the boy's distraught father opened the grave to put his doubts to rest and was horrified to see his son had turned over. What a frightening tale, be it fact or fiction; between stories such as this and the look of old abandoned cemeteries in general, its easy to surmise what keeps these ghostly tales going.

The cemetery itself contains many burials, including family plots. Many headstones are detached from the base; some of them lay in large chunks near a grave, and others have entirely disappeared. Whether missing or broken headstones are the work of vandals, or possibly the work of family members who wanted to salvage them for safekeeping, is unclear. I have no idea why a historical society has yet to jump in and organize a clean up of this lovely forgotten piece of history; I was told Purissima is left alone on purpose to detract vandals from causing further damage.

Photograph Copyright © 2005, Dayna Chalif

Cemetery discovered in New Mexico

The town of Bernalillo recently uncovered 200 years of history when Neighbors discovered an abandoned cemetery covered in shrubbery south of U.S. Highway 550 near the railroad.

Although residents walk past the rubble often, it is interesting that so many (for whatever reason) had never actually pieced together that the area was once a burial ground.

Some of the graves date back to the 1800s. Like so many forgotten resting places, vandals and the elements have destroyed headstones, while other headstones have been marked with rocks. About 100 people are buried there, but no one seems to know who they were. The state archives, the local Archdiocese and the neaby church all had only partial records of those who rest there and there is no complete data of who is buried in those graves. Curiously, it is now coming to light that no one is positive who even owns the land. Father Stephen Imbarrato of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Bernalillo did not know his church owned the property until it was recently rediscovered.

Volunteers with the 4-H club and the Knights of Columbus in Bernalillo helped clean up the cemetery and weeded the grounds; the Knights of Columbus are planing to make 80 crosses to identify the unmarked graves. As for identifying the bodies, Clergy is inquiring around the parish in the hopes to find information.

If you think your relative is buried there, call Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo at (505) 867-5252.

Over 150 Unmarked Graves Discovered at Plymouth Cemetery This Week

The removal of weeds and debris from a badly overgrown section in the northwest corner of the 1873-vintage burial ground brought to light 150 or so unmarked graves. The question is, whose are they?

"When we cleared back here, we just found hundreds of them," Shawnee Cemetery Preservation Association President Tom Jesso said. For the past two years Jesso, his wife, Ruth, and an assortment of volunteers have sweated to tame the wilderness that had encroached on the neglected cemetery grounds to the point where parts of it were dense with waist-high vegetation. It's personal for Tom: several generations of his family are buried in the cemetery. On Thursday, Tom Jesso took advantage of the warm, sunny weather to mow grass with one of the association's most dedicated volunteers, Henry Sobolewski. Jesso stopped his work long enough to give a tour of the newly reclaimed section. Among the rampant blue vinca and day lilies - possibly long-ago floral tributes now gone wild - there are rows of indentations in the ground, caused as the pine boxes people were buried in gradually rotted, Jesso said."This is the only way you would know they were here," he said, indicating the depressions. Some of the graves are completely unmarked. Some have plain stones on them, the inscriptions - if there ever were any - long since eroded away. And some have round metal markers bearing only a number. A few of these came to light still half-buried in the ground after the area was cleared. Tom and Ruth Jesso discovered more underground while probing with a metal detector. The numbers run from 1 to 300, but don't seem to be in order.

Ruth Jesso spray-painted the markers silver to be more visible. Tom Jesso put small American flags on some of the anonymous graves that didn't have markers. "I have 50 flags in here now, and there probably should be three times as many," he said. The Jessos hope someone will donate wooden crosses or some other kind of marker for the graves. And that the origins of the metal markers will come to light. Members of the Plymouth Historical Society say the section of the cemetery was where victims of an epidemic, probably typhoid, were buried. READ MORE

Abandoned Cemetery: Our Lady of the Pillar (old section)

Our Lady of the Pillar (aka Nuestra Señora del Pillar Cemetery) is not completely abandoned, in comparison to so many other old cemeteries … It is made up of two distinct sections; the front (upon entrance) holds new internments and is still in active use. This portion is in excellent shape and appears to have a regular caretaker. But as one wanders farther back in exploration, a beautiful yet forgotten portion of this cemetery is uncovered which holds many early residents of Half Moon Bay. There is such a difference in condition of the front (new) and back (old) grounds that one would think it were two separate cemeteries. While I am unsure when Our Lady of the Pillar was opened, I know it became one of the main internments for Catholics after the closure of Pilarcitos Cemetery in 1923.

There is no regular caretaker for the older sections of this cemetery and as I understand it, the lawn and weeds are cleaned up 1-2 times per year (likely by a volunteer- the church is still active). It is overgrown with weeds and riddled with gopher holes, scattered garbage, broken bottles, and silk flowers that are filthy and years old. Many headstones and footstones are broken, have fallen face down (so that the names are not visible), and missing markers. Many headstones have been vandalized. The older section also contains a small area exclusively for baby graves as well as a potters field section; they are both up a hill which is difficult to navigate through due to overgrowth. Most graves in the PFS are unmarked though many were interned here between 1910-1950.

I stumbled across this cemetery while doing paternal genealogy research. My Father's side of the family migrated to Half Moon Bay/San Gregorio when it was known as "Spanish Town" (as many Puerto Rican families did at the time being that fieldwork was plentiful)and therefore I presumed many unknown ancestors would be laid to rest in HMB and it was in this cemetery so far I have found one so far-Joaquin Muniz. As you can see from the photo, his headstone appears to have been vandalized.

Abandoned Cemetery: White Oak

White Oak is located behind old White Oak Meeting House on KY 152, .25 miles from US 27 and near the end of Fred Day Road. As far as I can tell, there are only two tombstones there: Mary Mack (1855-1936)and Minnie Mack(Sept. 7, 1899-Oct 12 1939). There are probably more burials here but perhaps not; being that the two women passed a few years apart from each other, maybe the family moved.

I wish I knew more about the White Oak Cemetery...Being the Garrard County historical buff that I am, I will be doing a little more research on this cemetery and women on my next visit. I'll add updates as I get them

Photographer: Yvonne Lay Logue

Abandoned Cemetery: Mount Moriah , Philadelphia PA

Mount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855; using the concept of Parisian ornate cemeteries, it utilized ornate Romanesque entrance and gatehouse built of brownstone. It was a grand rural cemetery for the accessible to the middle class.

Mount Moriah began with 54 acres and eventually expanded by 380 acres, enough space to build churches, allow for fraternal organizations to establish their own subsections within its bounds, and intern nearly 100,000 people. Mount Moriah contains over 5,000 war veterans including 400 Civil War Soldier's, a ten-acre Naval Asylum Plot residents of the Naval, a dept of veterans affairs area with over 2,000 burials, as well as sections holding Masons (Keystone Chapter No. 175), Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and American Mechanics. It was also once the resting place of Betsy Ross. It also holds the interns who were moved from 10 other closed church cemeteries as well as of course many other citizens who are unsung heroes in their own right. There are aproximately 80,000 people interned at Mount Moriah Cemetery.

As suburban cemeteries grew popular and many left the area, combined with the high perpetual care, Mount Moriah began to fall into neglect. As neighborhood crime increased, along with homeless rates, theft. And vandalism, the cemetery fell into abandonment.

Even its it state of disarray, the beauty of Mt. Moriah Cemetery is obvious; it is recognized as a historical landmark on the Philadelphia Register of historical places. This cemetery truly needs some TLC- while there are constant clean up efforts and attempts to recruit volenteers, it is a somewhat dangerous neighborhood as well as a huge undertaking, given its size. The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery Group is dedicated to its preservation and actively seeks members to assist in restoration. I urge anyone in the area to join in these efforts.

Highgate Cemetery, London

Highgate Cemetery is is in no way an abandoned or forgotten cemetery, but indeed it is a sleeping beauty.

Highgate Cemetery was one of seven cemeteries built in London in early 18oo's, after Victorians realized burial conditions had become intolerable due to overcrowding. In 1839 the London Cemetery Company opened this 17.5 acre cemetery to alleviate the strain. The government hoped that companies would now be encouraged to build bigger and better grounds to accommodate the bodies. Highgate’s grandiose layout was designed by architect Stephen Geary and landscape gardener David Ramsay. The Victorians responded in kind by building some of the most flamboyant tombs in London. Highgate, soon became a fashionable place for burials and was much admired and visited. The Victorian attitude to death and its presentation led to the creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs and buildings. By 1875 a 19.5 acre extension was added.

The cemetery's grounds are full of trees, shrubbery and wild flowers; all of which have been planted and grown without human influence. The grounds are a haven for birds and small animals such as foxes. The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon feature tombs, vaults and winding paths dug into hillsides. For its protection, the oldest section, which holds an impressive collection of Victorian mausoleums and gravestones, plus elaborately carved tombs, allows admission only in tour groups. The newer eastern section, which contains a mix of Victorian and modern statuary, can be toured unescorted.

Famous graves include those of Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, George Eliot and 18 Royal Academicians, six Lord Mayors of London and 48 Fellows of the Royal Society

Abandoned Cemetery: Unity Cemetery, Mason, OH

While I usually try to keep my Southern and Midwest blogs to places I have ties and/or have personally visited and photographed, this place drew me in. Union Cemetery is an amazing little forgotten resting place in Mason, Ohio... Unfortunately (but never uncommon), it is in an incredibly sad state of disrepair. It seems virtually no headstone is standing any longer and is so old I can't imagine there are too many ancestral visitors. The earliest graves are from about 1813 and the latest in the 1890's. Sadly it appears many of these fallen markers have been cast into concrete away from their owner (tho' the up side to that= preservation of sorts to the best of someones ability). Any info on this cemetery? Historical or preservation wise? I am all ears.

NOTE: These photos were forwarded and I need to give proper credit if the photographer is out there, let me know.