What do you think of when you hear the word necropolis? It certainly isn’t like a metropolis, which is a sprawling city with its suburbs very close together. In fact, a necropolis is devoid of the living. It’s a large cemetery designed with elaborate monuments, tombs, and graves. One of the most interesting necropolises in the country is the small town of Colma, California, which is in San Mateo County, near San Francisco and Oakland. Colma holds the distinction of having a dead population that drastically outnumbers the living by about 1000 to 1. Though the town has only about 1300 people in it, there are about 1.5 million individuals laid to rest in the cemeteries. Because of this ratio, the town received the nickname “The City of the Silent.” Humorously, it adopted the slogan, “It’s great to be alive in Colma!”
History of Colma, California
Colma was originally a very small town near the San Francisco and San Jose railroad line. It was settled in the 19th century and eventually became slightly more popular. It became the de-facto location for burials after San Francisco made it against the law to have new interments for the dead within the city limits. As a result, coffins began to be transported to Colma, and many new cemeteries were developed. Even though the town is just under 2 sq mi, it allows so many the chance to rest without being crowded.
Cemeteries in Colma
Colma is an all-inclusive necropolis. It has many different cemeteries that fit the needs of various cultures. For example, Hills of Eternity Memorial Park is a Jewish cemetery, while Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic cemetery. Below, we’ve included the full list of cemeteries located in Colma.
- Cypress Lawn Cemetery
- Eternal Home Cemetery
- Golden Hills Memorial Park, Inc.
- Greek Orthodox Memorial Park
- Greenlawn Memorial Cemetery
- Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
- Holy Cross Cemetery
- Home Of Peace
- Hoy Sun Memorial Cemetery
- Italian Cemetery
- Japanese Benevolent Society
- Olivet Memorial Park
- Pets Rest Cemetery
- Salem Cemetery
- Serbian Cemetery
- Sunset View Cemetery
- Woodlawn Cemetery
- The Fame of Colma
Colma is not a very large tourist destination, but it does have its fair share of notoriety. A number of famous individuals were buried in Colma, including Joe DiMaggio, famed center fielder for the New York Yankees; Levi Strauss, whose brand of denim jeans are still worn today; Wyatt Earp, gambler and lawman; Phineas Gage, a medical curiosity who survived a would-be fatal explosion; and others.
Virtuoso guitarist Buckethead also wrote an album titled Colma, named after the town. One of the songs even sports the name of one of the cemeteries: Hills of Eternity. The album was written to provide his mother with something relaxing to listen to while she recovered from treatment for cancer.
Southern California Cemeteries
Bayer Cemetery Brokers can help if you’d like to buy or sell a grave plot in Southern California. While we do not handle grave plots in Colma, you can contact us for more information about plots in a number of other cemeteries. Give us a call today for more information.