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Saint
Francis Solano Catholic Cemetery in Sonoma
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Welcome to Saint
Francis Solano
Catholic Cemetery in Sonoma.
We are located at:
550 East
Napa Street,
Sonoma, CA
95476.
Please see contact information and map
and directions
below. |
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History of
Saint Francis
Solano
Cemetery
Established
in 1835 |
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Saint Francis Solano
Cemetery was established in 1835 when Father Quijas,
the Catholic Priest in charge of Saint Francis
Solano Church at that time, approached Mariano
Vallejo for a grant of land in the Pueblo of Sonoma
to be used as a cemetery. In the second half of the
year, Vallejo, acting in his capacity as
Commissioner of Colonization for the government of
Mexico, granted a plot of land to the Church for a
cemetery. Apparently it was immediately fenced and
consecrated and put to use as a cemetery, making it
the oldest continuously used cemetery in the
county. |
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The deed for the
cemetery was apparently destroyed in the Bear Flag
Revolt and while the adjacent land changed title
several times, the cemetery was the subject of a
lawsuit in Pickett vs. Esser et al (Father Esser,
Archbishop Allemany of San Francisco, and J.
Cooper). This was settled in 1885 when Judge Temple
of Sonoma County Superior Court held that even
though there was no record of the deed, the land had
been openly in continuous, uninterrupted and
exclusive use as a cemetery since 1835.and therefore
was not part of the land quit claimed to Mr.
Pickett.
The Cemetery was
administered by the parish of Saint Francis Solano
Catholic Church until 1969. At that time, Bishop
Leo Maher of the newly formed Diocese of Santa Rosa
changed the administration and control to the
Department of Cemeteries. The public mausoleums
were built in 1974 and 1980. Later on a columbarium
(to house cremated remains) was added between the
mausoleums. |
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Though the cemetery is
still being used for burials, all graves have been
sold and the only available casket space is crypt
space or niche space is available for cremated
remains. |
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New at Saint Francis
Solano
Cemetery
New Ornamental Iron
Fence |
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Our Saint Francis
Solano Cemetery in
Sonoma has a
beautiful new fence
thanks to the
support of Father
Michael Kelly and
the generosity of
the Saint Francis
Solano parishioners
who donated almost
$12,000 to make this
a reality. The
unsightly thicket of
bushes was removed
and replaced with an
attractive
ornamental iron
fence (photos below,
click to enlarge).
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Sonoma -
hedge before
new fence |
Sonoma - new
fence
replacing
the hedge |
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Contact
Information
Map and
Directions |
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Saint Francis
Solano
Catholic
Cemetery
550 East
Napa Street,
Sonoma, CA
95476
P.O. Box
2864,
Petaluma, CA
94953
Map and Directions
Office Hours
Monday through Friday ~ 9:00
am to 3:00 pm
Served by the office of
Calvary Catholic Cemetery in
Petaluma
Office:
707-762-8462
Fax:
707-762-6918 |
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View Larger Map |
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