Dixon Cemetery

A District was formed in 1927 which now encompasses this cemetery and the Tremont and Binghamton Cemeteries

THIS IS THE INFORMATION FOUND ON THE CEMETERY WEBSITE....

Silveyville Cemetery District –

The first burials at what is now known as the Dixon Cemetery (AKA Silveyville Cemetery District) were in the 1860's when the I.O.O.F. purchased a few acres of land from a local farmer. In 1877 another fraternal order, the Masons, purchased several acres of adjacent land to the I.O.O.F. section. Elijah Silvey, for whom the early town was named, was an early settler who provided accommodations to travelers between the Bay area and Sacramento. The Silveyville Cemetery District was formed in 1927 and within a year the two fraternal sections of the cemetery (I.O.O.F. and Masons) were brought under their management umbrella. Additions to the cemetery's acreage noticeably expanded in the 1960's. The grounds of the cemetery are well-maintained with some large oak trees and various cypress dotting the landscape. There is an interesting mix of historic and recent markers of various shapes and sizes, larger tombstones in the older sections and the flat headstones and niches in the newer areas. The office is located at the entrance point off 1st Street/Hwy 113 just behind the prominent gray and white sign designating the cemetery "Silveyville Cemetery District."

Established in 1927 by an act of the Solano County Board of Supervisors. A portion of residence property tax of the district was to provide operational support at the cemetery. This funding, however, does not cover 100% of the operational annual budget.

The Dixon Cemetery has many cypress trees of a particular variety with somber and gothic looking trunks. The cemetery has only two mausoleums.

Dixon Cemetery

800 South 1st Street Dixon CA 95620

Consisting of approximately 20 acres of which the 9½ acres originally owned by the McKinley Family, were sold in two sections, and managed by the I.O.O.F. and Masonic Lodges in the 1870’s. Later the District purchased an additional 3½ acres and an additional 8 acres. Currently, approximately 3¾ acres remain undeveloped.

Tremont Church and Cemetery

Tremont Road Dixon CA 95620

Located just east of Dixon on Tremont Road, consisting of two acres, with a church. The land was donated by the Hyde Family around 1860. Burials being of mostly German descent. The church was built by the Tremont Mite Society. They started construction about 1863, with the completion and dedication in May 1871. This church was known as the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Tremont. As of March 30, 2018, Tremont Church has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the State of California Office of Historic Preservation.

Prior to the establishment of the town, the area was divided into 160 acre sections. Our town founder, Thomas Dickson's land, was section 14, joined to the south by William McKinley's land, which was section 23. Mr. McKinley, wife Catherine, and son George C. moved to their land on high ground, as winter floods were quite common in the surrounding country, on October 6, 1856 and built a home on a knoll in 1857. In 1864. Mr. McKinley, was buried under a large black walnut tree in the corner of his corral after he died in an explosion on the steamer, Washoe. The California Pacific Railroad was built in 1868. Catherine and George gave the railroad the right of way to pass thru their land in 1867 and Thomas Dickson donated the land for the depot and a town, which as established in July 1868. The McKinley's sold part of their land to farmer, John Mayes, who married Mrs. Dickson's niece, Francis Hood. Mr. Mayes filed a map of this land as part of Thomas Dickson's, Town of Dicksonville, in 1870 and another addition in ??.

In 1876, George McKinley buys almost half of Thomas Dickson's original land that is outside of the town's limits and builds his house to be further from the railroad, in section 14, for one hundred dollars an acre. In April of 1877, he sells most of this land to John Mayes, for $7,130, which later becomes an addition of the town, known as The Mayes Home Place, filed on ??

Sometime before 1877, Catherine McKinley and George sell part of their land in section 23, to the Order of the Odd Fellows for a cemetery. Isaac Rhodes, a carpenter in town, began removing those buried in the Silveyville Cemetery, which was in section 10, to this new Dixon Cemetery in March of 1877. The oldest graves in the cemetery are the two children of L.L. and Martha Mann (note to self...double check info and add their marker you took today). Martha died in 1857 and Mary T in 1862. As this was prior to William McKinley's death and the establishment of the town, we are not sure if they were originally buried here or if they were moved here along with others, later.

On July 1, 1877, the original portion of the Masonic cemetery was added. G.C.McKinley sold a piece of land containing about four and five-eighths acres, adjoining the Odd Fellow Cemetery on the northern side, to the Dixon Lodge of Masons for cemetery purposes. The price paid was $2,000.

In 1879, Dixon’s first big fire started during work on the McKinley ranch. Catherine caught fire and later died from her injuries and the home was lost as well. She was buried next to her husband, William. Their resting places and the memorial to their lives, land and home are now honored in the teardrop section in the Odd Fellows (IOOF) Section of the cemetery.

George McKinley died in July, 1892. In 1957, the Superintendent of the cemetery could not find a marker for George, so a simple one was made and placed next to his wife, Emeline, in the Masonic section as he was a charter member and past high priest of Royal Arch Masons of Silveyville Lodge.

Wendi...Note to self...add photos of all 4 town founders markers you took today 8.6.25

03/06/1876 McKinley buys 2 quarter sections of land from Thomas Dickson and builds his new home to move further away from the RR.

1877/03/21 SNNC ---Removing The Dead - Rhodes, the sexton of the Dixon cemetery, is engaged this week, in removing the remains of sundry persons interred in the Silveyville cemetery, and re-interring the same in the Dixon Cemetery

4/23/1877 G. McKinley sells most of his land to John Mayes...

G. McKinley to Jno. S. Mayes-70 84-1000 acres, sec 14, t7, nr 1 e $7,130.

1877/07/01

Masonic Cemetery - G.C.McKinley has sold a piece of land containing about four and five-eighths acres, adjoining the Odd Fellow Cemetery on the northern side, to the Dixon Lodge of Masons for cemetery purposes. The price paid was $2,000.

1877/09/01

---Six bodies have been moved to the new Masonic cemetery by Isaac Rhodes - four for Mr. J. Brinkerhoff from Silveyville, and two for Mr. J. Sweaney, from the Wolfskill grounds.

1877/10/13

---G.W. King has had the bodies of his mother and wife moved from Silveyvile cemetery, and re-interred - the first beside her husband the Rev. Daniel King in the Masonic cemetery, and his wife in the Odd Fellows.

1891/01/01

--According to information furnished by Sexton Collier, 32 bodies were buried in Dixon during the year of 1890. Of those 24 died in or near Dixon and 8 were brought from other places for burial.

1892/05/01

--After several weeks' work nearly all the dismantled monuments in the Odd Fellows' and Masonic cemeteries have been replaced. Very few of them were badly damaged.

07/04/1892 George Churchill McKinley passed away

1893/11/01--Over 1300 feet of the cemetery walk has been constructed from the town limits to the last gate of the Masonic cemetery.

The walk is free from blemish the whole distance and is a credit to the contractors, Messrs. Hall & Piper.

1896/04/01

---Sextons G.W. Collier, of the Masonic Cemetery and John Collier, of the Odd Fellows Cemetery, have their respective burial grounds in fine condition. It is a common remark with visitors that Dixon has the handsomest and best kept cemeteries in California.

FIFTY GRAVES ARE WREATHED. (May 31) Fifty graves of veterans, and the grave of a gold star mother, the late Mrs.

Chas. McCann, received ivy wreaths made by the Auxiliary at Dixon cemetery yesterday forenoon. Placing of the wreaths

was preceded by a procession of Legionaires, Womens Auxiliary, Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Dixon Post Band and civilians,

to the cemetery, where the colors were run up and appropriate exercises held, with Commander Schaeffer in charge. Rev.

Carl James invoked divine blessing, James Parsons recited Preamble to the Constitution, Eggert Rohwer Gettysburg

Address, the Band played selections, Howard Vaughn spoke, salute fired, and taps blown. (And we must not forget the

mocking bird which from its high perch at the tip of the flagstaff contributed its flute like notes to the occasion).

12/1/1911 ESTATE OF J.S. MAYES--IN SMALLER HOMES--This Grand Property to Yield the Call of the Small Home Seeker--An Individual Sacrifice for a Great Public Good. This is one of the finest bodies of land in California. Located on the main double tracked overland railroad, with easy and quick accessibility to San Francisco and Sacramento, and the advent of electric through lines. Wide county roads leading to it and through it from every point of the compass. Surveyors are now on the grounds, sub-dividing in 20 and 40 acre parcels. Avenues of liberal width reaching every part from the nearest approach to town. Monuments are being set at all cardinal points. E.E.Nudd has put a few lots on the market near his home, of which Dr. Almeida and George Steinmiller have purchased one each. Mr. Koch, representing the Wagner Addition, has been in town the past week and has sold several lots, the following persons having purchased: Win. Rattenbury, W.J. Mclntyre, H.G. Steans, W.C. Turney, Al. Roquett, most of whom intend to build at once.

06/01/1926 PETITION FOR CEMETERY DIST. H.G. Brown is taking steps for the creation of a cemetery district in this section, which will take in present cemeteries and the cost of maintenance will be borne by a tax upon the lands of all the people in the district.

1927/06/01 A petition was circulated last week for the creation of a cemetery district, to embrace the area covered by the Dixon Union high school district--Dixon, Tremont, Maine Prairie, Pitts, Currey, Grant, King, Silveyville, Owens, Liberty, and all that part of Solano Joint and Davis districts in Solano county. The Dixon cemetery needs to be enlarged. All the lots that the Odd Fellows and the Masons owned have been sold out, so Dixon practically has a cemetery without ownership. There is no organization of any kind directing the care of it.

08/12/1929 The body of the last of the pony express riders was brought to Dixon on Thursday forenoon by the Wilson Funeral Home for interment in the Dixon cemetery. This was the late Thomas J. Reynolds, who died in Sacramento on the 12th. Reynolds was the brother of Mrs. Alicia Keithly, now 87 years old, who owned and lived for several years on the place now occupied by J. Connor. After Reynolds gave up his pony express riding on the stretch between Benicia and Knights Landing he took up carpentering and built several places in the Silveyville, Dixon, Davis section, of which he was a resident for 70 years.