Learn about the lives of early residents of Davisville, as told through their final resting places.
Make 1880 Davisville “come to life”, as you:
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Hear about what daily life was like for a late 19th century family, only a generation after CA became a state.
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Honor the women who single-handedly raised a family and sometimes maintained a business after their husband’s death at a time when life for widows was often a financial and legal challenge.
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Understand how CA law facilitated changes to the medical practice in America.
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Imagine being a child who traveled by wagon because their family joined the great migration with dreams of striking it rich during the gold rush, then dealt with the adversities of frontier life.
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Respect the unsung laborers who were discriminated against and are therefore not part of this soil.
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Contemplate the lives of farmers, tradespeople, immigrants, civic leaders and families who came together as a community to shape the fabric of the early town of Davis.
Your tour guide, Serena, explains the way she created this tour and how she will try to paint a picture of daily life, hardship, and community in 19th-century Davisville. This tour is meant to honor both those remembered and those erased from the record and will discuss how we are all interconnected, as the marriages of the various families buried in the cemetery illustrate.
Helpful Tips
What to Wear/What to Bring?
Please wear comfy shoes, sometimes the grass is wet and heels are not recommended. Dress for the weather, we meet rain or shine. Bring water.
Accessibity
Tours via wheelchair or scooter are available on a concrete path with advanced notice.
Private tours recommended for the hearing impaired with advanced notice.
How Long is the Tour?
The tour lasts about 90 minutes.
ALTERNATE ROUTE
If there is a burial at the time of the tour, the route will be altered for privacy to the bereaved.
RESChEDULING
If the cemetery is closed for any reason, you will be notified and the the tour will be rescheduled.
Where do We meet?
We meet at the labyrinth in front of cemetary office, 820 Pole Line Road
MASS TRANSIT
From UC Davis or downtown Davis, take Unitrans L line, get off at Pole Line and Loyola;
From Sacramento, take the Yolobus 42A, get off at 5th and Pole Line.
About
SERENA WILLIAMS
I’m Serena, and I came to Davis for my doctorate in 2008—and never left. I fell in love with the city: its trees, bikes, markets, cows, and especially its layered history. I created this cemetery tour to bring life to the stories behind the stones—pioneers, tradespeople, immigrants, and families who helped shape early Davisville.
Some names will be very familiar, and others unknown, but their lives built the town we know today. I hope this walk deepens your connection to Davis and invites you to see its history not as distant, but as part of the landscape we share.
Contact:
Email: info@chronosheritage.com
Phone: 530.208.9876
Land Acknowledgment:
It is important to acknowledge that the land on which we walk today is the ancestral and unceded territory of the Patwin people. For thousands of years, this land has been home to Patwin communities. Today, three federally recognized Patwin tribes continue to uphold their cultural and environmental stewardship: the Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The Patwin people have remained deeply committed to the care and protection of this land, as their elders have taught across generations. We are honored and grateful to be guests on their traditional lands.