This year, the Grand Lodge of California is working to uncover more local history contained within the small Jamestown Masonic Cemetery. Built in 1854, it served the membership of St. James № 54 until 1875, when the lodge disbanded. Today it’s one of two GoldRush-era cemeteries owned by Grand Lodge, which has set out to clean up and make repairs to the site, and to catalogue all known and unknown remains there.
So far, the effort has included using a canine forensic team to locate unmarked burials, developing boundary and topographical reports, and engaging a team of researchers to dig up the stories behind the burials including the mausoleum of John Pereira, one of Jamestown’s leading figures.
An early miner in the area, he later distinguished himself as an orchard owner, winemaker, and a real estate magnate. He built the Jamestown Hotel, where President McKinley once stayed, and helped establish the Sierra Railway depot, transforming Jamestown from a humble mining camp into a proper little city.
Read more at: californiafreemason.org/jamestown