Coloma Grave Fence

Iron Grave Fence:... more

by Wes Jimerson

Title

Coloma Grave Fence

Artist

Wes Jimerson

Medium

Photograph - Photographyh

Description

Iron Grave Fence:
Iron grave enclosures or fences are often seen in older cemeteries, especially around a single grave or a family plots. Two key reasons for fencing years ago were to define the cemetery boundaries or family plots and to protect gravestones from animals such as wandering cattle. This fence is in the Saint John's Catholic Cemetery.
Saint John's Catholic Cemetery:
Saint John's Catholic Cemetery is located within the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park of Coloma California. There are 80-100 known graves at this cemetery, and the oldest headstone is dated 1861.
Coloma:
On January 24, 1848, an event occurred in Coloma that would radically impact the history of California and the Nation. James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River. He noticed several flakes of metal in the tailrace water and recognized them to be gold. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly, and triggered the California Gold Rush of 1849.

Historic State Route 49:
State Route 49 (SR 49) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49, which passes through Coloma, is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it is known as the Gold Country Highway.

Uploaded

December 12th, 2014