If you have ever visited San Francisco, California, you know that it is packed about as tightly as any city you'll find.  In the late 1800's, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors became increasingly concerned about the public health problems created by city cemeteries as well as about the ever-decreasing available space for the growing city.  So, in 1902, the board voted to outlaw any more interments within the city limits.  They also demanded that the largest cemeteries in the city move their bones elsewhere.

This vote did not rest well with the populace.  Many fought for years to keep their loved ones' remains undisturbed.  The legal battles extended for 40 years, but finally in 1942, the last bodies were removed from the city.  With the exceptions of only the Mission Dolores Cemetery and the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio (neither of which accepts new burials), there are no cemeteries in San Francisco.

This created a problem.  Obviously, San Francisco still had people dying on a regular basis, and they needed somewhere to be buried.  Following the lead of the Catholic church, who had begun in 1892 to bury their dead in an old potato field five miles south of San Francisco, many people began to look to the small city of Colma for their cemetery needs.

Quickly, this town of about 1,200 people took on a character of its own.  Instead of strip malls along the road, you will see rows and rows of cemeteries.  Over a million people are buried in the town of Colma, the only incorporated city in America where the dead outnumber the living.

The town leaders of Colma take this distinction quite seriously.  As early as the 1950's, they limited development within the city to cemeteries and businesses directly related to caring for the deceased (florists, headstone-makers, and the like).  I read from one source that, in 1996, they decided also to allow gambling (though I'm not certain how that relates to cemeteries).

Colma is one of the most unique places I have ever visited.  If you are interested in cemeteries or finding famous dead people, this is definitely a worthwhile stop if you find yourself in northern California!