Colma Historical Association

Wow! I just went on a tour today and had a great time! I emailed Pat to let her know that we wanted to do a 2-​hour tour that included famous people and other distinctions. I gave her some dates and my contact info. She called me back within days and it was arranged.
*** Tip #1 — the Jewish cemeteries are closed on Saturday so if you want to visit Wyatt Earp, Levi Strauss and others plan on a Sunday tour.
*** Tip #2 — because there’s literally so much ground to cover Pat will drive you around in her mini-​van which only seats 5 people max
The week before our tour Pat called to reconfirm and we were all set. We spent 2 hours going around to the cemetaries and learned a lot about the history of Colma, the disinterment and re-​interment from SF to Colma and background on a lot of the historic figures who are buried here. There are over 1.5M people interred here and 13 cemetaries so there’s no way to cover it all in just a few hours. I felt like we only got a few highlights even after 2 hours. I’d love to hear more about the Serbian cemetery, Japanese cemetery and the pet cemetery.
Guess I’ll have to come back!
If you don’t feel like arranging a private, free tour (cuz you’re crazy!) you can still visit the cemeteries. Be sure to at least stop by the museum and pick up maps of each cemetery because there won’t be any when you get there.

I was surprised and happy to visit this museum. I didn’t know the history of Colma; this was a great introduction. They have several buildings, to explore and the exhibits are interesting and easy to understand. They are willing to talk to groups and they have knowledgable staff people. There are handouts to add even more details to what you learn.
The information isn’t just about Colma, it spans a broad range of topics: railroads, San Francisco expansion, agriculture, cemetaries, famous people, the costumes and topics of the times — both in the world and in the local area. It is a great place to visit. Its free and fun.

If it isn’t obvious I appreciate collections of railroading history. To be honest, I really didn’t expect much before visiting but I was pleasantly surprised. First, I was given an personal tour of the museum by a board member/​docent,. Second the 1863 San Francisco & San Jose depot, which was moved here, is a real charmer and holds quite a few items which I consider significant. I was unable to give my full attention to the rest of the collection because I arrived a hour before closing. Here are a few of the famous names buried in the Colma cemetaries: Andrew Halldie (cable cars), William R. Hearst (newspapers), Joe Di Maggio (baseball), Vince Guaraldi (jazz) and Wyatt Earp (OK Corral).

During our visit to Colma I insisted we stop in at this museum. I’m a history nerd who loves Historical Society museums. Stopping in here we learned about how there aren’t any cemeteries in SF (except a couple in the Presidio) and how all bodies were exhumed and moved to Colma because SF is simply not big enough to house its living population let alone its dead.
We were also able to learn about the history of Colma, see a list of the different cemeteries here and read about the famous people buried here.