Colma

Why is Colma called the “City of Souls”? Colma, a small town just south of San Francisco, holds a unique distinction. It’s a town where the dead outnumber the living by a thousand to one. Here, among the rolling hills and carefully tended lawns, rest nearly two million souls. Colma wasn’t always a necropolis. Originally known as Lawndale, it was a thriving agricultural community, feeding the burgeoning city of San Francisco during the Gold Rush. The San Francisco and San Jose railroad, built through Colma in 1862, carried tons of vegetables, grain, and even pigs to the city. Flower fields blossomed, supplying San Francisco’s vibrant flower market. But as San Francisco’s population exploded, so did its mortality rate. Disease and disaster struck repeatedly. By the late 1800s, San Francisco’s cemeteries were overflowing. City officials, viewing cemeteries as both a health hazard and a waste of valuable land, began looking south. In 1887, the first cemetery, Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, opened in Colma. It was a convenient location, easily accessible by horse-drawn carriage, streetcar, and train. More cemeteries followed. Then, in 1900, San Francisco officially banned new burials within city limits. The fate of Colma was sealed. In 1914, eviction notices were sent to all San Francisco cemeteries, ordering the removal of bodies and monuments. After years of legal battles, the disinterment began in 1940. Hundreds of thousands of remains were relocated to Colma. Many were laid to rest in mass graves, their identities lost to time. In 1924, the town, still known as Lawndale, officially incorporated. Its founders, primarily cemetery superintendents, sought to protect their unique industry. The town even had its own blacksmith as marshal. The name officially changed to Colma in 1941 due to a postal service conflict with another Lawndale in Southern California. Today, Colma is a unique blend of life and death. Seventeen cemeteries dot the landscape, their monuments and mausoleums telling silent stories of lives lived. Flower shops and monument businesses thrive. The living residents of Colma, a small but resilient community, maintain their town with pride, honoring both the past and the present. They embrace their town’s unusual moniker, the “City of Souls,” a testament to the millions who rest beneath their feet.