Colma, California

From Free net encyclopedia

Colma is a small town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula next to Daly City and South San Francisco. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1,191.

Much of the land of Colma is dedicated to cemetery usage. With 17 cemeteries for the interment of human beings and one for pets, the dead population outnumber the living by tens of thousands to one. This has led to it being called "the city of the silent", and also led to a more humorous motto among some residents: "It's great to be alive in Colma". Due to its precarious position along the San Andreas fault, San Francisco is sometimes called "The city that waits to die", leading to one of Colma's more morbid nicknames: "The city that waits for the city that waits to die to die".

Colma became the location of a large number of cemeteries when San Francisco, the town's powerful neighbor to the north, passed an ordinance in 1900 outlawing the construction of any more cemeteries in the city (mainly because of increased property values making the cost of using land for cemeteries prohibitive), and then passed another ordinance in 1912 evicting all existing cemeteries from city limits. (A similar scenario prevails in New York City's borough of Manhattan, where only one active cemetery still exists — the Trinity Church Cemetery and Crematory, at the intersection of 155th Street and Broadway, on the northwestern edge of Harlem). The relocation of cemeteries from San Francisco to Colma is the subject of A Second Final Rest: The History of San Francisco's Lost Cemeteries, (2005) a documentary by Trina Lopez.

Colma was briefly called Lawndale, but because another city with the name Lawndale, California already existed, the town changed its name back to Colma in 1941.

Famous Eternal Residents

Colma also has the unique privilege to contain the final resting place of Norton I, Emperor of the United States, and Protector of Mexico in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst is buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park; as are business magnate William Henry Crocker; Charles De Young, founder of the San Francisco Chronicle; horticulturist John McLaren; and jazz musician and bandleader Turk Murphy.

Wyatt Earp is buried at the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma next to his lover of more than forty years, Josephine Marcus.

Joe DiMaggio, the famous baseball player once married to actress Marilyn Monroe, is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery; as are San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto; 32nd govenor of California Pat Brown; Bank of America founder A.P. Giannini; and Senator James D. Phelan.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 See also
4 External links

[edit]

Geography

Image:CAMap-doton-Colma.pngColma is located at 37°40'44" North, 122°27'20" West (37.678780, -122.455513)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²). 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

The towns 17 cemeteries comprise approximately 73% of the town's land area.

[edit]

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 1,191 people, 329 households, and 245 families residing in the town. The population density was 240.8/km² (624.6/mi²). There were 342 housing units at an average density of 69.1/km² (179.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 48.36% White, 1.43% African American, 0.00% Native American, 23.68% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 19.48% from other races, and 6.80% from two or more races. 43.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 329 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.47 and the average family size was 3.92.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,750, and the median income for a family was $60,556. Males had a median income of $32,059 versus $29,934 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,241. 5.2% of the population and 3.4% of families were below the poverty line. 4.8% of those under the age of 18 and 3.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

[edit]