The Pioneer Cemetery, formerly known as the North Branch Cemetery, is a defunct cemetery established in c. 1851, and located along
California State Route 12
State Route 12 (SR 12) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in an east–west direction from California State Route 116, SR 116 in Sebastopol, California, Sebastopol in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County ...
in
San Andreas,
Calaveras County
Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a County (United States), county in both the Gold Country and Sierra Nevada, High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...
, California. It is the oldest known cemetery in Calaveras County.
The site is listed as a
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
(number 271), by the California Office of Historic Preservation since September 3, 1937.
History
The cemetery was established in c. 1851 and was originally named the North Branch Cemetery, named after a town of North Branch that once existed near the cemetery.
Most of the graves in Pioneer Cemetery are unmarked.
Many of the graves from the former Poverty Bar Cemetery in
Poverty Bar, Amador County were reinterred in the Pioneer Cemetery in 1962, while the
East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", is a public utility district which provides water and sewage treatment services for an area of approximately in the eastern side of San Francisco Bay.Sectio ...
worked on building
Camanche Reservoir
Camanche Reservoir is an artificial lake in the San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States, at the juncture of Amador, Calaveras, and San Joaquin counties. Its waters are impounded by Camanche Dam, which was completed in 1963. Cam ...
.
A historic plaque marks the graves for the reinterred.
See also
*
California Historical Landmarks in Calaveras County
*
List of cemeteries in California
This list of cemeteries in California includes currently operating, historical (closed for new interments), and defunct (graves abandoned or removed) cemeteries, columbaria, and mausolea which are historical and/or notable. It does not include ...
*
Pioneer cemetery
In the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere, a pioneer cemetery is a cemetery that is the burial place for pioneers. American pioneers founded such cemeteries during territorial expansion of the United States, with founding dates span ...
, list of early cemeteries
References
{{Authority control
Cemeteries in California
History of Calaveras County, California
California Historical Landmarks
1851 establishments in California
Cemeteries established in the 1850s
Buildings and structures in Calaveras County, California