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All the United States California Colma Colma Historical Association

Colma Historical Association

This odd little museum holds exhibits on everything from blacksmith equipment to hair jewelry.

Colma, California

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zackofalltrades
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Hair jewelry   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Painting of Holy Cross Mausoleum, and funerary paraphernalia   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Information on Colma’s 14 cemeteries   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage embalming equipment, portable undertaker’s table, and hair jewelry   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Historical display regarding Colma’s pet cemetery   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Historical Chinese tombstones, with explanitory text   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage kitchen impliments on display   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage kitchen impliments   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Historical items, donated by local residents and past residents   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage flower child era buttons   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage flower child era buttons   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage flower child era buttons   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Map of displaced SF cemeteries   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Exterior view of original rail, train depot and museum   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Old Colma Railroad Station Depot   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Old Colma Railroad Station Depot   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Old Colma Railroad Station Depot   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Old Colma Railroad Station Depot   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Freight Shed   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Rail model with cemetery display   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Blacksmith’s Shed   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
Blacksmith’s Shed   zackofalltrades / Atlas Obscura User
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About

To say that the Colma Historical Association is just a historical association, or just a museum, severely understates the experience which is just as eclectic as San Francisco itself.

Spread out over four buildings (the main museum, the Old Colma Railroad Station Depot, the Freight Shed, and the Blacksmith's Shed), the facilities include not only information and guides to Colma's 17 cemeteries, which were established after San Francisco cemeteries were by law displaced outside of the city proper. The museum also includes, at loose count: historical embalming equipment; a portable undertaker's table; a collection of hair jewelry; displays on historical household equipment; a collection of artifacts from San Francisco's flower child generation, including a collection of vintage political buttons; a collection of vintage typewriters; railway equipment; blacksmithing equipment; and an array of local guides available to assist with research about Colma and to give customized tours (interested in the famous dead of Colma? the stained glass? the pet cemetery? you have only to ask).

All of this is presided over by volunteers this small museum which is never busy is a must-see for anyone interested in the history of Colma, of San Francisco, or any eclectic historic collections really.

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Museums And Collections Museums

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On the hillside, above the Italian Cemetery.

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zackofalltrades

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pjr

  • pjr

Published

July 23, 2015

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Colma Historical Association
1500 Hillside Blvd
Colma, California, 94014
United States
37.682343, -122.456586
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