Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA Gold Rush-era burial ground at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, final resting place for 600+ pioneers, renowned for the recurring apparition of a woman in a deep burgundy dress watching over the Schieffer family plot.
Cold Springs Road at Lakotah Lane, Coloma, CA 95613
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Day use fee for Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park applies; cemetery itself is open without additional charge during park hours.
Access
Limited Access
Sloped hillside cemetery with uneven ground; unpaved paths.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1848 · One of the oldest extant cemeteries in California, dating to the year of the Gold Rush discovery · More than 600 burials representing the diverse international population of the Mother Lode · Located within Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, a California and National Historic Landmark
Pioneer Cemetery—also known historically as Sutter's Mill Cemetery, Coloma Protestant Cemetery, and Vineyard House Cemetery—traces its origins to 1848, the very year gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill just a short distance away on January 24 by James Marshall. As news of the discovery spread and thousands of prospectors flooded into the Sierra Nevada foothills, a settlement at Coloma quickly grew to house roughly 3,000 residents at its peak. The earliest surviving gravestone dates to 1849, though the cemetery was in use from 1848 onward.
The diversity of those who rest here reflects the global reach of the Gold Rush. Names carved into marble markers range from Scandinavian to Japanese, Italian to French—reflecting the international wave of migrants who descended on the Mother Lode. Many graves are unmarked; original wooden markers long ago disappeared. The cemetery also contains mass and family plots representing some of Coloma's earliest settler families, including the Schieffer plot with stones for William (age 2, d. 1861), Charles (age 42, d. 1864), and May (age 27, d. 1890).
A notable historical event associated with the site is the double hanging of convicted murderers Jerry Crane and Mickey Free in 1855. The cemetery passed into California state ownership in 1981 and is now administered as part of Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. Historical markers placed by preservation societies since the 1990s help visitors navigate the grounds and interpret the lives of those interred.
The landscape is a hillside above the American River canyon, dense with mature oaks and grass, reached via Cold Springs Road from Highway 49 north of Placerville.
Sources
The most enduring legend at Pioneer Cemetery centers on the 'Woman in Burgundy,' an apparition described with unusual specificity by multiple independent witnesses over several decades. She is typically described as tall, with dark hair parted in the middle and pulled tightly back, dressed in a long skirt of deep burgundy—a color detail witnesses consistently note, even remarking on the vividness of her complexion at close range. She has been observed both within the cemetery and along Cold Springs Road, where she appears to beckon passing motorists to come visit the graves before disappearing without trace.
According to local paranormal researcher Nancy Bradley of the Gold Rush Ghosts investigation group, who conducted field work at the site, the apparition appears most often near the Schieffer family plot—a grouping of four grave-spaces, only three of which are occupied. Bradley's team conducted EVP sessions that they believe yielded a voice giving a name, and her research suggested the apparition may be that of a woman whose own grave lies on a different slope of the cemetery, separated from family members she watched over in life.
The Visit El Dorado County regional tourism authority and multiple regional ghost-lore sources independently document this tradition as among the most consistently reported apparitions in the Gold Rush Country. A secondary legend involves a tall bearded man in ragged clothing seen along the highway north of the cemetery, interpreted locally as a prospector still guarding his claim.
Cold spots, mist, and greenish lights have also been described by visitors, particularly during morning and evening hours.
Notable Entities
Explore 600+ pioneer graves dating from 1849, including the Schieffer family plot at the center of the Woman in Burgundy legend. Historical markers explain the Gold Rush context. Best visited in morning or late afternoon for atmosphere.
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