El Campo Santo Cemetery

El Campo Santo Cemetery was a Catholic Cemetery that was started in 1849. Many early founding San Diegans were buried in this Cemetery. It is presently only a fraction of its original size, containing now only 447 visible graves. This cemetery once included the area that is now the commercial district of Old Town. It once included all the land up to Old Town Avenue.

However, as the city grew, some graves were moved to make room for the living, though sometimes roads and buildings were built on top of some graves, which also happened in San Francisco around the turn of the century in the Richmond District. This practice in San Diego started in 1889, when the living decided to build a horse-drawn street car line through the cemetery, right over 18 existing graves. This street car line eventually became a road, San Diego Blvd. In 1942, it became a modern, paved road.

Many paved areas / buildings located near or around the cemetery have graves underneath them, which caused problems for the living.