Spooky San Leandro
Well, technically it's San Lorenzo, but just stay with me here.
If you're looking for a bit of local lore to add an extra fright to your Halloween, I recommend learning more about Pioneer Cemetery, located at 15450 Hesperian Boulevard. Right across the street from our Walmart. You can tell from its three-acres of broken and/or sunken headstones, rotted coffins, vandalized crypts, weeds, dust, and who knows what else!
The earliest grave dates back to 1853, when San Lorenzo was known as Squattersville. It's an accurate name for a mishmash of would-be farmers, failed gold miners, immigrants, and adventurers settled on the land of indigenous people who were murderously removed by the Spanish. The cemetery itself is a testament to the violent, turbulent history of our town. In fact, it was a major burial ground from Livermore to Hayward, most likely because it was decidedly nonsectarian.
Some notable residents include:
The Yoakum brothers, who were convicted of murder and hanged by a lynch mob in 1879.
Henry Jorgensen, who was killed in an explosion at the Trojan Powder factory in 1907.
A man named Mahler, who died by suicide after his wife passed away.
Five members of the Hansen family, possibly dead from the flu epidemic.
One of the tallest and most ornate monuments is for the Nebas children, who were killed when the family wagon got stuck on the train tracks following a May Day picnic in 1881. Five of the family’s six children died. The headstone shows five small hands reaching down from above. The sixth child died months later, apparently from an illness unrelated to the rail tragedy.
The Hayward Area Historical Society is said to manage the grounds in cooperation with Alameda County. They even offer standard as well as paranormal tours! Or, at least they used...
If you're daring enough, I recommend taking a socially distant visit of the grounds. You're likely to see a startling contrast between the age and decrepit state of the cemetery with that of the rushing modernity and oblivious traffic all around it. However, mind the gates -- they're not meant to keep trespassers out, but to keep whatever spirits, specters, and ghosts safely within.
Have a Happy Halloween!
Photos courtesy of SF Gate.
References
References
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Eeriest-place-in-Bay-Area-A-place-of-death-in-5812934.php
https://www.haywardareahistory.org/san-lorenzo-pioneer-cemetery
http://www.sanlorenzoheritage.org/history/cem-hx.htm
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