EL CAMPO SANTO CEMETERY (THE HOLY FIELD), OLD TOWN, SAN DIEGO

El Campo Santo Cemetery (2410 San Diego Avenue) is a historical site on the edge of Old Town, San Diego—often missed by those walking or driving by. It's small with very little signage, even though almost 500 bodies were interred here.

There are dozens of white wooden crosses and picket fences (characteristic of Catholic cemeteries in the 1800s), some are broken or vandalized. Most of the grave sites are unmarked and placed in a rather haphazard manner. Several are surrounded by a circle of rocks, others by delicate iron fences. The grounds are bare with no grass or flowers. An adobe wall surrounds it.

Between 1849 and 1897, this was an active Catholic cemetery and the final resting place for 477 of Old Town's citizens including gamblers, bandits and others that happened to be passing through. Today, 120 years since the last burial, there are about 40 actual marked grave sites on the cemetery grounds.

Through the years, much of the original grounds have been covered over to allow for the expansion of the city. In 1889, tracks for the Santa Fe Railroad were built through the center of the cemetery. At the time the grave markers were removed, but not the physical bodies. The electric trains continued to run through the grounds on a daily basis until the 1940s. Then, the they were replaced by the expansion of San Diego Avenue for an all-bus transit system.

In 1994, a plaque was placed here to remember the more than 20 men, women and children who lie buried beneath San Diego Avenue. In addition, small brass circles that say “Grave Site” were embedded in the nearby sidewalk and street. Another plaque, near Linwood Avenue, behind the cemetery honors another 13 burials below the street. The grave sites were discovered with ground-penetrating radar.

Some of the more notorious citizens that are buried here include: James Robinson “Yankee Jim” (?-1852), a French-Canadian outlaw, who was sentenced to death by hanging for stealing the only rowboat in San Diego; and Antonio Garra, a Cupeňo Indian chief, who was convicted in 1851 of inciting the local indigenous people to revolt against the Americans and to expel them from Southern California. His sentence, death by firing squad, took place at his grave site that still can be seen within the grounds. As he was shot, he fell backward into his grave and was covered over.

Not surprisingly, this cemetery and those interred here are frequently mentioned on the the popular San Diego ghost tours.

The center of Old Town, San Diego, is beautifully maintained as a State Historic Park. However, El Santo Campo Cemetery lies outside those boundaries and is owned and maintained by the City of San Diego. There have been many plans through the years to restore and protect the cemetery, however, to date, not much has been accomplished. It's just old and left alone on the edge of Old Town, one of San Diego's most popular tourist destinations. I find the old place intriguing and often return for a visit when I'm in the area. I expect that in time it will be restored, but for now, I like it the way it is.