 land grantee Bernardo Yorba's gravesite behind fence |
Yorba Cemetery (oldest private cemetery in Orange County, 1858-1939) Woodgate Park (at Woodgate Dr. & Parkwood Ct. in a middle-class neighborhood) Yorba Linda, California • Yorba Cemetery, Placentia, 1969 (B&W photo of cemetery in open field) • "Yorba Family's Cemetery: California's Oldest" by Marie E. Northrup, National Geneaological Society Quarterly, June 1969. *Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (est. 1769), the first of 21 Spanish missions, has the oldest cemetery in the state after excluding pre-colonial indigenous burial sites. |
 Yorba Cemetery Burials 1858-1939 |
 The legend of the Pink Lady is a story that was made up to spice up a dare, and the fiction gained a foothold in people's imaginations over the years. The Pink Lady is a young woman in a pink gown who died in a carriage accident on her way home from a dance. She is said to make her appearance every two years or so, preferably even-numbered years, on the night of June 15. The name of one of the people buried in the Yorba Cemetery, Alvina de los Reyes who died in childbirth, was arbitrarily linked to the Pink Lady. (source: The Yorba Linda Star community newspaper accounts on the Yorba Linda History website)Photos copyright © July 2009 Kat Avila / Time: Late morning / Camera: Canon SD1000 Notes: Call (714) 973-3190 on the 4th Thursday of the month for tour availability (given 1st Saturday of the month). The tour is the only way to get into the cemetery. The cemetery is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC at all other times. When closed, photos must be taken from outside a cast iron fence surrounded by a hedge. | ||
 front gate |
 "… For almost a century, members of many early California families were buried here." (text from plaque) Historical Site No. 25 |
 center of cemetery facing Woodgate Dr. |
 center of cemetery facing Woodgate Dr. |
 right side of cemetery facing Woodgate Dr. |
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 near Court of Serenity on Halloween |
Fairhaven Memorial Park (est. 1911) 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, California Member of the American Public Garden Association for the over 1,000 trees on its 73 acres. Photos copyright © Halloween 2009 Kat Avila Time: Late afternoon / Camera: Canon SD780 IS |
 mausoleum window illustrating "The Departure" from Alfred Tennyson's poem The Daydream |
 "Across the hills, and far away Beyond their utmost purple rim, And deep into the dying day The happy princess follow'd him." |
 angel Memorial Garden |
 Old English-style Waverley Chapel is in the background. You could actually have your wedding there. |
 Waverley Chapel bell tower |
 Oxford Gardens next to the mausoleum |
 Oxford Gardens |
 Douglas Corrigan (1907-1995) Famous for his "wrong way" flight to Ireland in 1938 after being denied permission for a transatlantic flight. |
 Glenn L. Martin (1886-1955) aviation pioneer |
 Francis C. Hall (1908-1999) CEO of Rickenbacker (guitars) after Adolph Rickenbacker sold the company to him. |
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 Leo Fender (1909-1991) electric guitar pioneer Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1992) |
| Fairhaven Mausoleum (est. 1916) A crying child could be heard in the mausoleum's basement when there were children's crypts there (but not anymore), so the story goes. |
Santa Ana Cemetery (est. 1870) borders Fairhaven and is managed by O.C. Cemetery District, which also oversees Anaheim Cemetery (est. 1867) and El Toro Memorial Park (est. 1896). | |||
 front entrance |
 mausoleum lobby |
 mausoleum dome detail |
 The J.W. Layman (1861-1928) memorial honors an early prominent citizen of Santa Ana. |
 1996 interview photo of my dad and mom (the ghost) was taken by Michael Jones here. |
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 main entrance |
 mailbox |
Holy Sepulcher Cemetery (est. 1930) Largest of three managed by the Diocese of Orange 7845 Santiago Canyon Road (at Amapola Avenue), Orange, California Actress Ruby Keeler (1910-1993; married at one time to Al Jolson) and Carl Karcher (1917-2008; founder of Carl's Jr. fast food restaurants) are interred here. Photos © July 2009 Kat Avila / Time: Late a.m. / Camera: Canon SD1000 |
 view adjacent to cemetery |
 Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange memorial |
 St. Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint of lost causes. |
 St. Jude Thaddeus Pray for us |
 I hadn't visited my grandparents and great-grandparents in years, so I wasn't quite sure where they were buried. Maybe it was just an eerie coincidence, but in this photo of where I parked I couldn't have lined it up any better. |
