Museum group coordinates upkeep of Healdsburg’s historic cemetery

Oak Mound Cemetery’s historic beauty, recently hidden by an overgrowth of brush, toppled trees and leaf duff, was uncovered this spring through efforts organized by the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society.

The clear vistas now offer visitors a peaceful place to walk and ruminate on life and death.

They represent the first two steps of the ambitious project to restore Oak Mound, established in 1859. This spring, museum volunteer and project manager Jim Dreisback and his crew made serious inroads on fallen trees, heavy underbrush and dislocated headstones.

“We’ve had community cleanups at the cemetery a number of times since the 1950s,” Dreisback said. “This time, we will go one step further and establish a schedule of regular upkeep.”

On the first workdays, held March 23-24, crews worked from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. whacking weeds, sawing dangerous limbs from trees and cleaning up debris left by visitors. Bob Hopkins of Hopkins River Ranch helped recruit vineyard managers and growers to provide crews. The crews were paid by the companies for their work, and laborers were also covered by workers’ compensation insurance. Thirty-six people worked those two days.

“I even called old high school buddies, and no one said no,” said Dreisback, who was raised in Healdsburg.

On May 11-12, Image Tree Service brought in heavy equipment, including cranes and a skiff loader, to remove an oak tree that had toppled, roots and all, disturbing the Grant and DeGeus family sites. The root ball of the 100-year-old oak measured 48 inches in diameter.

In addition to the toppled oak, Image Tree removed several dead trees that were in danger of falling. The debris was recycled.

The third phase of work will include section markers and heritage gravesite restoration. The museum’s goal is to have a database of the legacy sites.

The final phase will be to establish a maintenance plan for the future.

Museum Curator Holly Hoods said the project is one she has wanted to tackle for a long time. She said she gets regular requests for information about people buried at Oak Mound.

“We’ll add signage and provide access to all the heritage gravesites,” Hoods said.

While the cemetery also has two newer, endowed sections maintained regularly by Oak Mound Cemetery owner Scott Robbins and family, the older sections tend to get overgrown.

Dreisback consulted with local landscaper Jay Tripathi, who owns Gardenworks, and Matthew Thompson, a retired Healdsburg arborist. A complete tree survey is included in the plan, along with the work needed on each tree.

“We walked the cemetery and flagged trees and vegetation that needed to be removed,” Dreisback said. A number of dead and dying trees pose a hazard to the public.

Cost for the project is expected to be $50,000 this year and another $50,000 next year, money that is being accumulated with a Razoo.com fundraising campaign and local donations of time, money and materials.

The museum expects to work with local service groups like the Masons and the American Legion, whose members have volunteered their time working at Oak Mound in the past.

In 1976, the American Legion Sotoyome Post 111 repaired the Tipsy Fountain, a focal point at the top of the cemetery’s knoll, and plans include another restoration.

Initial work will not include restoration of tombstones, but museum curator Hoods encourages family members to contact Robbins, the owner, about individual sites. Work done by the museum crews will include consultation with North Bay Monument.

The cemetery, established in 1859, was the second in the town that was developing around founder Harmon Heald’s store.

The first included the grave of George Heald, Harmon’s brother, who died in 1853 and originally was buried on the site now occupied by St. John’s Catholic Church and St. John’s School, just a block from the plaza. When Harmon Heald created his plat map dividing the town into lots in 1857, he allocated parcels that included the plaza, four churches, a school and the first cemetery. Today, a plaque is the only thing left at the original cemetery on East Street.

City leaders already were aware of that site’s limitations by the time Harmon Heald died in 1858. Ransom Powell, William Macy and Roderick Matheson chose a different location for the town’s cemetery, a peaceful knoll on Matheson’s 300-acre farm. Despite concerns expressed by community members, the remains buried at the East Street location were disinterred, moved a quarter-mile north and reburied in August 1859, establishing Oak Mound Cemetery.

Col. Matheson was buried there in 1862, after he died at age 38 due to wounds received in the Civil War while leading Union troops. His body was brought back to Healdsburg for interment. When Matheson’s daughter, Marie Antoinette “Nina” Matheson, married Jirah Luce, they continued to manage the cemetery until Nina Matheson Luce died in 1920. Management then went to Jirah Luce, one of three Luce children. He managed the cemetery for nearly 40 years, retiring in 1959.

John Galeazzi, owner of North Bay Monument, bought the cemetery and operated it for 30 years. The city of Healdsburg annexed it in 1987, and Galeazzi sold it shortly thereafter to Scott Robbins and Victor Bacci.

Dreisback, asked why he took on such a daunting task, said his wife, Meredith, once the museum’s assistant curator, got him involved there as a volunteer. Two years ago, Hoods told him of her dream to make Oak Mound visitor-friendly.

“I wanted to help Holly achieve her dream,” he said.

Of the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society’s $100,000 goal, $5,400 in cash has been raised, including $1,025 at razoo.com/story/Oak-Mound-Cemetery-Maintenance.

Contact Healdsburg Towns Correspondent Ann Carranza at Healdsburg.Towns@gmail.com.