Location: Adjacent to Carmel Mission Basilica
The Carmel Mission cemetery, also known as the Camposanto or “holy field,” is a place of great historical significance. It is the final resting place for 3-4,000 Esselen and Rumsien peoples. Due to limited space, multiple burials often occurred in the same spot.
Left: An overview of the cemetery.
There are many graves marked with abalone shells, a Native American tradition. A plaque on a tree in the cemetery addresses the meaning of the shells:
These symbolic grave sites, adorned with abalone shells, represent the many hundreds of Esselen and Rumsien peoples buried in this graveyard and beyond.
May they be honored, and may we be reminded of their long-term presence, their rich culture and humanity, and the importance that they still hold for their descendants today.
Right: A row of graves marked with abalone shells.
Among the notable graves in the cemetery are those of Monsignor Ramon Mestres, Father Michael Murphy, Harry and Mabel Downie, Old Gabriel, Catherine and Joseph Quinn, Lady Maria Antonio Field, and Emilio Odello. Each of these individuals played a significant role in the history of the Carmel Mission and the surrounding community.
Left: The headstone of long-time Mission curator Harry Downie.
The cemetery is the final resting place of Old Gabriel, arguably the Mission’s most famous Native America neophyte. His notoriety stems from his long life. He was supposedly baptized by Father Serra in 1783, when he was in his late twenties.
The age on his headstone is listed as 151 years old, but later research suggests he was likely 119 years old.
Gabriel was an expert in laying walls of stone and adobe and functioned as a mason. He helped to make the adobe bricks for building the Carmel Mission as well as the missions at Soledad and San Antonio, and he was one of the principal stonecutters for the 1797 church.
Gabriel had seven wives and married five of them in the church. He outlived them all.
