Entry No. 44 — the San Francisco file — filed under: cemetery
Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
A Jewish cemetery established in 1889 by Congregation Sherith Israel after San Francisco pushed its burial grounds out of the city — and the unlikely final resting place of Wyatt Earp, the Old West lawman who never actually died in a shootout but of natural causes, decades later, in Los Angeles. He's buried here beside his common-law wife Josephine, on a stretch of El Camino Real lined with cemetery after cemetery.
The story
When San Francisco decided in the late 19th century that dead bodies were taking up too much prime real estate, it simply outlawed new burials within city limits and forced congregations to ship their deceased south. Congregation Sherith Israel established Hills of Eternity (also known as Giboth Olam) in 1889 on a windy strip of El Camino Real in Colma, long before the town officially incorporated as a city where the dead outnumber the living by more than a thousand to one.
That forced relocation created one of the strangest historical footnotes in California: the Tombstone gunfighter Wyatt Earp rests in a traditional Jewish cemetery on the San Francisco Peninsula. Earp didn't die in a dramatic shootout at the O.K. Corral—he died in Los Angeles in 1929 at age 80 of natural causes. His common-law wife, Josephine Sarah Marcus, belonged to a San Francisco Jewish family, and after his death, she had his cremated remains interred in her family’s plot here.
What it's like
Drive down the cemetery corridor of El Camino Real and pull into the gates at 1301. The grounds are quiet, manicured, and unpretentious compared to the grand Gilded Age mausoleums across the road. Earp’s marker is surprisingly modest, but you can spot it by the tokens left behind: visitors blend Jewish mourning traditions with Western lore by leaving stones alongside loose change, dice, and casino poker chips on top of the headstone. Confirm open hours before driving down, as gates lock promptly.
The move: Find Wyatt Earp's modest, frequently visitor-marked grave (people leave coins and casino chips) and note the quiet irony: the most famous gunfighter in American myth resting in a small-town Jewish cemetery next to a Peninsula strip mall.
- 📍 Colma, CA
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1301 El Camino Real, Colma, CA 94014
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Cypress Lawn Memorial Park — Cross the street to trade Hills of Eternity's understated grounds for 148 acres of Gilded Age mausoleums and sprawling Victorian funeral architecture.
- San Francisco Columbarium — Trace Colma's origin story back into San Francisco proper to see one of the few burial structures spared when the city evicted its dead.
- St. Francis of the Guns — Pair the grave of the Old West's most famous lawman with a statue up in Ingleside cast from nearly 2,000 confiscated firearms.
Good to know
Why is Wyatt Earp buried in a Jewish cemetery?
His common-law wife of nearly 50 years, Josephine Marcus, was Jewish and came from a San Francisco family. When Earp died in Los Angeles in 1929, she had his remains interred in her family's plot.
What do people leave on Wyatt Earp's grave?
Alongside traditional Jewish visiting stones, people frequently leave coins, dice, and casino poker chips on the headstone as a nod to his frontier gambling days.
Is the cemetery free to visit?
Yes, it is an active memorial park open to the public during daytime hours. Visitors are expected to keep voices low and maintain respect for grieving families.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · jcemsf.org · findagrave.com
last checked: 2026-07-20