San Francisco National Cemetery
San Francisco National Cemetery
looking north towards the Golden Gate Bridge. |
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1884 |
| Location | San Francisco, California |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 37°47′59″N 122°27′52″W / 37.79972°N 122.46444°WCoordinates: 37°47′59″N 122°27′52″W / 37.79972°N 122.46444°W |
| Type | U.S. National Cemetery |
| Size | 9 acres (3.6 ha) |
| No. of graves | 26,425 |
| Website | US Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Find a Grave | San Francisco National Cemetery |
San Francisco National Cemetery is an United States national cemetery, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with Golden Gate National Cemetery, a few miles south of the city.
About 1937, San Francisco residents voted to no longer build cemeteries within the city proper and, as a result, the site for a new national cemetery was selected south of the city limits. The cemetery is one of only four officially existing within San Francisco city limits (the others being the Columbarium of San Francisco, the historic graveyard next to Mission Dolores, and the sarcophagus of Thomas Starr King.)
When Spain colonized what would become California, this area was selected as the site for a fort, or presidio, to defend San Francisco Bay. About 40 families traveled here from northern Mexico in 1776 and built the first settlement, a small quadrangle, only a few hundred feet west of what is now Funston Avenue. Mexico controlled the Presidio following 1821, but the fort became less important to the Mexican government. In 1835, most soldiers and their families moved north to Sonoma, leaving it nearly abandoned. During the Mexican–American War, U.S. troops occupied and repaired the damage to the fort.
The mid-century discovery of gold in California led to the sudden growth and importance of San Francisco, and prompted the U.S. government to establish a military reservation here. By executive order, President Millard Fillmore established the Presidio for military use in November 1850. During the 1850s and 1860s, Presidio-based soldiers fought Native Americans in California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 re-emphasized the importance of California's riches and the military significance of San Francisco's harbor to the Union. This led, in 1862, to the first major construction and expansion program at the Presidio since its acquisition by the United States.
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