San Mateo County Poor Farm and Cemetery

Hi members! My son is doing a paper on the cemetery for the poor farm and I wanted to share with the pictures he took today. We accessed the hiking trail behind the Calvary Baptist Church.

1946 Map Crystal Springs poor farm cemetery site

The connection between the San Mateo Poor Farm and the property we not call the SF Peninsula Watershed runs deeper than its geographical proximity to then Spring Valley Water Valley Property. It has in common with the watershed a deep and colorful history that is for some reason is not taught in our public schools, and generally unknown by the public. In 1923 the population of San Mateo County was roughly 40,000 and the city of San Mateo had around 6,000 people. If not the same time we share the same space as these people from the past, and are connected to them nonetheless. This is our heritage, something to think about whist traveling on the roads that surround the hidden historical place called the SF Watershed and beyond.

OSFW Advocate Catherine Hill Apsley shares photo of a grave marker underneath hiding under some trees and bushes and in better condition than most of the grave markers.

Thanks Catherine!

In 1894 the Poor Farm fulfilled its need for a Cemetery; they placed it in the southeastern most corner of the property. Graves were marked with wooden head markers and were numbered. San Mateo Poor Farm records show 542 graves logged. However in 2001 the University of Santa Clara Archaeology and Anthropology departments teamed up with The Institute for Canine Forensics and they found grave markers numbered into the 600’s. Today and everyday people will drive pass with this graveyard totally unrecognized but some old wooden markers remain, and a line of eucalyptus trees indicates a possible tree laden border of this solemn place.

This photo has come to our attention which is (allegedly) the only known photo (to our knowledge) of the San Mateo Poor Farm... !!!
https://openthewatershed.org/the-san-mateo-poor-farm/

San Mateo County Poor Farm and Cemetery updated their address.

List of Inmates at the San Mateo County Poor/Relief Farm and Hospital by Cath Madden Trindle
http://www.smcgs.org/sites/default/files/database_files/County%20Poor%20Farm%20Inmates_0.pdf

www.smcgs.org

San Mateo County Poor Farm and Cemetery updated their business hours.

I'm going back and reading each website that published info and readers' comments about the farm and cemetery, and linking to some. A lot of shared knowledge!

https://openthewatershed.org/the-san-mateo-poor-farm/

The San Mateo Poor Farm – Open the SF Watershed The San Mateo Poor Farm Unbeknownst to most travelers of highway 92 in San Mateo County, as they pass under the Ralston-Polhemus underpass they are actually voyaging through an area with great historical significance. In the Southeast corner of this intersection remains a timeworn graveyard that was...

See the big picture or embiggen it to look at details

Official map of San Mateo County, California. Relief shown by hachures. Cadastral map showing roads, railroads, lot lines and numbers, landowners' names, and geographical features. Approved by the Board of Supervisors, August, 1894. Includes list of school districts, distances from San Francisco, and area of county and population. LC Land owner...

Just a few hundred yards north of highway 92 remain the foundation and grounds of the Poor Farm hospital.

Most of the place is gone of course but some things remain:

An old style stone wall and stars, juxtaposed against much newer poured concrete steps that are relics in their own right. landscaping lives on many decades after the patients who saw them planted have passed.

This place is a window in time to what the area was like for the residents who lived there. The birthplace of the San Mateo County Health System.

San Mateo County Poor Farm and Cemetery updated their website address.

https://web.archive.org/web/20090907195133/http://www.k9forensic.org/poor_farm.html

poor_farm

https://everythingsouthcity.com/2015/10/the-hidden-history-of-the-san-mateo-county-poor-farm/

The Hidden History of the San Mateo County Poor Farm South San Francisco, CA October 30, 2015 Submitted by Andy Howse, Open SF Watershed Unbeknownst to most travelers of highway 92 in San Mateo County, as they pass under the Ralston-Polhemus unde…

Compiling the information from many different sources about this intriguing place and its time.