Garden of Memories; I.O.O.F. Cemetery 768 Abbott Street

John Steinbeck is buried in the Garden of Memories/I.O.O.F. Cemetery. His Hamilton relatives, major characters in East of Eden, as well as neighbors, who appear in the novel, are also buried here. At the funeral of Samuel Hamilton in East of Eden, the author describes the cemetery and the place where he too will be buried: the traditional dark cypresses weeping around the cemetery's edge, and wild white violets gone to weed, the cast-iron stars with "wind-bitten flags" for the G.A.R. veterans. Members of the Cooper Family, mentioned in Travels with Charley, are also interred here. In 1971, Universal Studios used Hamilton Plot #2 for the funeral scene in the television movie, The Harness.

For a recorded history by Destination Salinas, call: 831-401-9587 # 32

Yamato Cemetery 1199 Abbott Street

Yamato Cemetery History 1908-1976, by James Y. Abe with Ichikuro Kondo and Saburo Kitamura, discusses the history of this Japanese cemetery and includes events during and after World War II.