The official name of the cemetery, according to a city ordinance, is "Historic City Cemetery of the city of Sacramento" (Ord. 2002_020 § 1 (part), 2002). According to Aug. 14, 2008 phone conversation with an employee of the cemetery archives: Many of the early burial locations in the cemetery are "unknowns". The woman said that way back then, the keeper of the cemetery was directed to re-number the graves. The guy left the area when he was finished and took the records with him. Though there may be grave numbers listed for a burial, the actual locations of those graves are unknown, as they do not have gravestones and were not able to be identified after he absconded with the records.

When "the world rushed in" as the California Gold Rush of 1849 got underway, there quickly became a need for a cemetery in Sacramento. John Augustus Sutter, Jr. donated 10 acres for what is now called Sacramento City Cemetery (also known as Historic City Cemetery or Old City Cemetery). It is the oldest existing cemetery in Sacramento, California. The cemetery was built in the Victorian Garden-style of the time. In 1850 there was a devastating cholera outbreak which took an estimated 1,000 lives. Many of the cholera victims were interred in a mass grave at the cemetery - in 1852 a monument was erected in remembrance of those lives lost. Typical of 19th century cemeteries, fraternal organizations (Masons and Oddfellows) purchased sections for their members. The Sacramento Pioneer Association, Volunteer Firemen, and Grand Army of the Republic also acquired sections for their members. More land was acquired for the ever-expanding cemetery when Margaret Crocker (widow of Edwin Crocker)donated an additional 20+ acres. (The current acreage for Sacramento City Cemetery is 44 acres). The City of Sacramento now owns the cemetery which was designated a State Historic Landmark in 1957 by the State Historic Landmark Commission. The grounds are an historic mix of skyward-reaching tombstones, some of monumental size (such as the Mark Hopkins memorial), numerous family plots, and more recent flat markers as can be seen in the Veterans section which is decorated with flags by local boy scouts each Veterans Day. There is a great variety of trees as well as gardens, including the beautiful Historic Rose Garden which is spectacular when it blooms in the Spring. The Old City Cemetery Committee, Inc. came to be in the 1980's when volunteers stepped in to oversee various volunteer programs such as adopt-a-plot, giving historic tours, and other events such as the annual nighttime Halloween foray through the cemetery.