Cultures and Graves

Visit to Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway

Brief history

Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway, California is the only cemetery in the City of Poway and the Pomerado Cemetery District. The photos and videos are mine. The history and district information came from:

Then and Now: A cemetery for Poway – Pomerado News (sandiegouniontribune.com)

History – Dearborn Memorial Park (dearborncemetery.com)

In the early days of Poway, local families did not have access to a cemetery or graveyard, so loved ones were usually buried on family property or in a field. A new church was built, but it did not have space for a graveyard. In 1885, the first town Doctor, Louis Hilleary, recognized the need for a cemetery, and donated some of his farmland. The cemetery was named for the first person buried there, John Dearborn, 1886. Originally from Vermont, he came to Poway in 1881 because his niece was a teacher here.

After Dearborn’s burial, the cemetery received transfers of graves from family plots and smaller “cemeteries”. During my visit to Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway, I was pleasantly surprised that it is very quiet. Most of the farmland and horse stables that Poway was known for are gone now, but several low hills separate the cemetery from the “downtown” area.

Pomerado Cemetery District

Several versions of cemetery associations were formed over time in an effort to address maintenance issues. Eventually, a formal vote of local residents allowed the cemetery board to charge those living in the Pomerado Union High School District an increase in property taxes for upkeep of the cemetery. The Pomerado Cemetery District boundary includes portions of Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Penasquitos as well as the City of Poway.