Even though Halloween has passed, Pioneer Park in Mission Hills still has a few interesting stories that may give you the frights.
Many people see Pioneer Park as a lovely place to relax with family, thanks to its green grass, tree-lined paths, and playground.
It was not always this way.
Pioneer Park was originally a Catholic cemetery called Calvary Cemetery. It was the final resting place of many early San Diegans: various prominent families, immigrants, children, priests, and others. The San Diego History Center’s Calvary Cemetery records document some of the people buried there.
But turning the cemetery into the park we know today was not without controversy.
In 1870, the city set aside 10 acres of land for a cemetery, with half intended for Catholics and the other half for Protestants. Records show the Protestant section was never used, while the first Catholic burial took place in 1875.
The cemetery eventually fell into disrepair. During the Depression, it was renovated as part of the Works Progress Administration, and an adobe wall was completed in 1939. The cemetery was rededicated that November but later fell into disrepair again. By the 1960s, the city was considering turning the property into a public park.
There is another odd part of Calvary Cemetery’s history as documented in city files. A fire in the caretaker’s shack just before the city took over in 1939 destroyed the cemetery’s burial records, except for one book dating to 1899. As a result, the identities of people buried in unmarked graves were lost.
The proposal to turn the cemetery into a park also raised concerns about the graves. In 1969 and 1970, the Hillcrest-Mission Hills Improvement Association became involved. Members researched the cemetery’s history, recorded the headstones, and documented who was buried there.
That work helped shape the park’s design. Some headstones were left in place or grouped, while others were moved to Mount Hope Cemetery or stored by the city.
The city turned the property into a park in 1970, and it was officially named Pioneer Park in 1977.
Although some headstones were moved, the graves themselves remained. Some headstones were brought back from Mount Hope Cemetery in 1983 and placed in Pioneer Park with a plaque honoring those buried there.
Read more history stories here. Do you have a story to tell? Send an email to DebbieSklar@cox.net.
Sources:
- San Diego History Center, “San Diego Cemeteries: A Brief Guide.”
- City of San Diego, “Uptown Historic Context and Oral History Report.”
- San Diego History Center, “Calvary Cemetery Records Collection.”
- San Diego History Center, “Hillcrest-Mission Hills Improvement Association Calvary Cemetery / Pioneer Park Collection.”
- City of San Diego, “1940 Aerial View of Pioneer Park Cemetery.”
- City of San Diego, “Mission Hills Park.”
