# Pioneer Park (San Diego)

Pioneer Park, also known as Mission Hills Park, is a public park in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego, California. Originally established in 1876 as Calvary Cemetery, it served as a Catholic burial ground before being repurposed as a public park in 1968. The bodies remain buried beneath the park.

## History
### Calvary Cemetery

Calvary Cemetery was the second Catholic cemetery in San Diego, dating back to when the city had a population of only 250. The first was El Campo Santo cemetery in Old Town. When it began to fill up, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego purchased the land, atop Pringle Hill in the Mission Hills neighborhood, from the city in October 1873. The cemetery was formally established in 1876. For the years when it was in operation, it provided burial grounds primarily for Catholic residents of San Diego.
Following the opening of Holy Cross Cemetery opened in 1919, Calvary Cemetery began to fall into disrepair. In 1939, the caretaker's building, containing many of the burial records, caught on fire. The records were lost. The cemetery remained active until the mid-20th century.

### Conversion to a park

A state law passed in 1957 stated that cemeteries that endangered "the health, safety, comfort, or welfare of the public" and had less than 10 burials in the previous 5 years could be officially abandoned. As the cemetery had not been well-maintained and was frequently visited by vandals and motorcyclists, the city began the process of converting the cemetery into a park in 1961. By 1968, it was fully converted. The City of San Diego removed most of the headstones to Mt. Hope Cemetery. Despite the removal of most headstones, the remains of the cadavers are still beneath the grounds.
In December 2024, a vandal drove into the grassy area of the park and performed donuts, leaving behind deep ruts and mud.

## Features

Features of the park include:
* A memorial row of preserved headstones commemorating the history of the once was a cemetery.
* A children’s playground for recreational use.
* Tennis courts are located across the street from the main park area.

## Paranormal claims

Pioneer Park is reputed to be haunted, with reports of spectral apparitions and unexplained phenomena. These stories have made the park a point of interest for paranormal enthusiasts.

## Notable burials

Several prominent individuals and families are interred at the site from its time as Calvary Cemetery. Among them are members of the Bandini family, known for their ownership of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant.
| Name | Birth Date | Death Date | Notable Achievements |
| Don Juan Bandini | 1800 Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru | November 4, 1859 (aged 58-59) | Married to Maria de los Dolores Estudillo; |
| Father Antonio Ubach | September 1835 Barcelona, Spain | May 27, 1907 | Also buried at the site is Father Antonio Ubach, a Roman Catholic priest who served as the parish priest in Old Town San Diego for 23 years beginning in 1860. |
| Charles Francis Walsh | 1877 | 1912 | American pioneer aviator, who built one of California's first airplanes, died in a crash in 1912. |
| Peter C. Shannon | 1821 | 1899 | Peter C. Shannon (1821–1899) was an American judge and politician who served as Chief Justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court. He presided over the trial of Jack McCall, leading to the territory's first legal hanging. Shannon died after a carriage accident. |
| Jesse Wilbur Ames | 1807 | 1866 | Jesse Wilbur Ames (1807–1866), a San Diego pioneer, arrived in 1820 as a sailor and later became a Catholic, allowing him to own property. Ames played a role in the Mexican-American War, served as Mayor of San Diego, presidents of the Board of Trustees, and later owned Rancho Cañada de los Coches. |
| John (Jack) Stewart, | | 1892 | Participated in the Battle of San Pasqual, shipmate to Richard Henry Dana. |
| Rosa Machado | | 1898 | Wife of John (Jack) Stewart. |
| William John Collard | | | |
| Leon Gomez | | | |
| Richard Kerren | January 17, 1814 | November 5, 1856, at the age of 42 | Sergeant Richard Kerren, stationed at Mission San Diego de Alcalá, amassed substantial wealth through property acquisitions, livestock trading, and possible dealings in government supplies. At his death in 1856, his estate included $8,289 in assets. |
| Sir Albert Vincent Mayrhofer | | | |
| Ysidora Bandini de Couts | 23 Sep 1829 San Diego County, California, USA | 24 May 1897 (aged 67) Los Angeles County, California, USA | Married Cave J. Couts; daughter of Don Juan Bandini. |
| George Patrick Brennan | | | |
| Marco Bruschi | | | |
| Andrew Cassidy | 1817 | November 25, 1907 | |
| James Waterman Connors | | | |
| Lieutenant Cave J. Couts | Springfield, Tennessee, November 11, 1821 | 1874 | The Couts family, who owned Rancho Guajome Adobe. Cave J. Couts arrived in San Diego following the Mexican–American War to assist with mapping the border between the United States and Mexico. He was originally buried in the Old Town Cemetery in 1874. He married Ysidora Bandini |
| William Blount Couts | | | |
| Dr. David Bancroft Hoffman | 1824 | 1888 | |
| George Alonzo Johnson | August 16. 1824 | November 27, 1903 | George Alonzo Johnson was an American entrepreneur and politician known for pioneering steamboat navigation on the Colorado River and serving in the California State Assembly. He co-founded George A. Johnson & Company, which played a role in supplying Fort Yuma. |
| George Lyons | | | George Lyons, a native of Donegal, Ireland, arrived in San Diego in 1847, having worked as a carpenter aboard a whaler on the Northwest coast. He operated a store in Old Town from 1851 to 1858 and served as San Diego's sheriff for two terms from 1858 to 1862. Additionally, Lyons held various local offices, including city trustee and postmaster, and was a director of the San Diego & Gila Railroad. |
| Juana de Dios Machado de Wrightington | 8 March 1814 | 24 December 1901 Age 87 | Juana de Dios Machado Alipás de Wrightington, was a pioneering nurse, midwife, and quilter in Old Town San Diego, known for her service during the Mexican-American War. Despite being illiterate, she became an expert in nursing, translating, and assisting as a midwife. During the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846, she cared for the wounded, earning the title of "Florence Nightingale of San Diego." |
| Henry C. Magee | | | |
| Charles E. May | | | |
| Anton Mayrhofer | | | |
| Maria Amparo Maytorena de Burton | 1836 | 13 Aug 1895 (aged 58–59) | |
| James McCoy | | | |
| Benjamin Franklin Parsons | | | |
| Maria Victoria de Pedrorena de Magee | | | |
| Miguel de Pedrorena | 8 March 1814 | 24 December 1901 | |
| Luis Antonio Serrano | | | |
| Anton Sonka | | | |
| John Collins Stewart | | | |
| Maria Serafina de la Luz Valdez de Machado | 1788 | 1861 | |
| Dr. Charles Carpentier Valle | | | |
| Tony Barbarich | | | |
| Angelo Boffelli | | | |
| Leonora Casillo de Martinez | | | |
| Daniel Cavanaugh, aka Daniel Cassidy | | | |
| Caroline Derenbecker | 28 Jan 1853 Germany | 3 Mar 1909 (aged 56) | |
| Inez Estrada | | | |
| Alice Gragg, aka Alice Greenwood | | | |
| Anna Guglielmetti | | | |
| Lottie Leidenberger Hans | | | |
| William M. Kerren | | | |
| Luis Lopez | | | |
| Felipe San Martin | | | |
| Agnes McCormick | | | |
| Asunta Tonini Morris | | | |
| Andrew Quinlan | | | |
| William V. Trimmer | | | |
| James Henry Ward | | | |
| Hans Hugo Herman Heink | 1887 | 1916 | Mother Ernestine Schumann-Heink |
| John S. Minter | | | |
| William R. Moak | | | |
| Timothy Ryan | | | |
| D. Archibald | | | Catholic priest. |
| Henry J. Baert | | | Catholic priest. |
| Louis Alphonse Dabande | | | Catholic priest. |
| G. Heirrewegh | | | Catholic priest. |
| Patrick Honohan | | | Catholic priest. |
| Josef M. LeCerf | | | Catholic priest. |
| Henry Charles Lehrke | | | Catholic priest. |
| Patrick McGreevy | | | Catholic priest. |
| Dennis E. Meara | | | Catholic priest. |
| Joseph T. Nunan | | | Catholic priest. |
| Cornelius L. O'Brien | | | Catholic priest. |
| Cornelius O'Hanlon | | | Catholic priest. |
| Luciana Osuna | | | Catholic priest. |
| John J. Reardon | | | Catholic priest. |
| Bernard Smyth | | | Catholic priest. |
| Francis Joseph Swift | | | Catholic priest. |
| Sister Mary Regis Beirne | | | Catholic nun. |
| Alice Cooney, aka Sister Mary Dolores | | | Catholic nun. |
| Sister Mary Nazarene of Jesus Dean | | | Catholic nun. (moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1919) |
| Mary M. Holland, aka Sister Mary | | | Catholic nun. |
| Catherine Kelleher, aka Sister Mary Teresa | | | Catholic nun. |
| Patricia McDermott, Sister Mary Teresa | | | Catholic nun. |
| Anne McDonald, aka Sister Germaine | | | Catholic nun. (moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1919) |
| Catherine Monroe, aka Sister Mary Regina | | | Catholic nun. |
| Sister Mary Dolores O'Boyle | | | Catholic nun. |
| Sister Teresa Ortiz | | | Catholic nun. (moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1919) |
| Mary Josephine Smith, aka Mother Mary Josephine | | | Catholic nun |
| Catherine Sutherland | | | Catholic nun |