We have passed this historical cemetery many times over the years. Today, we decided to pause to learn its history and meet some of its residents.

In 1894, the trustees of the Oceanside I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) bought this land for $50 and over the years it grew and changed hands, finally becoming the Oceanside Memorial Park / Oceanview Cemetery, the most significant cemetery in Oceanside. From its inception until about 1950, when Eternal Hills Memorial Park opened in Oceanside, Oceanview was the primary non-denominational cemetery in Oceanside. During its heyday in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, there were well over 1,000 burials at Oceanview.

Statistics show the cemetery contains the remains of over 55 veterans of every major military conflict involving the United States, from the Civil War through World War II.

Other residents include pioneers of the region, businessmen and women, developers, political leaders of both San Diego County and the City of Oceanside, plus the unique and interesting characters that were, and are, an integral part of the historic and present day fabric that is Oceanside and San Diego County’s North Coastal region.
Those interred here range in age from just a few hours old to Agapita Soliz who, according to her family, was 110 years old at the time of her death.  Though it could not be authenticated by official records, her age was based on “historical events with which she was intimately familiar and on the age of her many descendants.”

One of the many interesting people here include former attorney William Howe Crane, the brother of Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage. Wow, right? What a history lesson in just a 500' X 200' piece of land in a little beachside town.