El Campo Santo is a cemetery located at the

Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum The Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum is a historic house museum located at 15415 East Don Julian Road in City of Industry, California, that features the homes and private cemetery that belonged to the pioneer Workman-Temple family. W ...

, 15415 East Don Julian Road, in City of Industry, California. As one of the oldest private cemeteries in Southern California, El Campo Santo contains the remains of the pioneering Workman-Temple family as well as

Pío Pico Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of ...

, the last governor of

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

, and other prominent pioneer families. Within its low brick walls, the one-half acre cemetery features a Neoclassical

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

and a small cemetery plot surrounded by a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

cast-iron fence. In the early 1850s, the family of William Workman (1799–1867) established El Campo Santo, or "the sacred ground," as a cemetery solely for the use of their family. Along with a cemetery plot enclosed by an ornate cast-iron fence, they built a Gothic Revival brick chapel dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

by Bishop Thaddeus Amat of Los Angeles. Among the first to be buried here was William Workman's brother David Workman (1797–1855), who was killed in an accident while driving cattle to the gold fields in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. At the turn of the century, the cemetery was abandoned and its brick chapel destroyed by fire. Walter P. Temple, a grandson of the Workmans, successfully filed a lawsuit preventing any further desecration of the cemetery. In 1917, he was able to purchase the cemetery and the surrounding and began restoration. In place of the chapel, however, he built a cast stone Neoclassical mausoleum and moved the remains of his family inside. In 1921, he also transferred the remains of Pío Pico and his wife, Ygnacia Alvarado de Pico, from old Calvary Cemetery on North Broadway in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, which was being relocated, and had them entombed in the mausoleum.'' Los Angeles Times'', Mar. 6, 1921, "Remains of First Native-Son Governor Lie in Mausoleum. – Honor For Ashes Of Pio Pico," p. II8. The Workman Home and Family Cemetery are designated California Historical Landmark No. 874. The cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, No. 145, on November 20, 1974. El Campo Santo is open to visitors through a self-guided tour described in the free brochure available at the museum office.

Gallery

Cemetery.2.JPG, The mausoleum from the side Cemetery.3.JPG, The cemetery plot

References

External links

Homestead Museum Official Website

* ttp://www.nps.gov/nr/ National Register of Historic Places* {{National Register of Historic Places Cemeteries in Los Angeles County, California History of Los Angeles History of Los Angeles County, California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in California San Gabriel Valley