George C Yount Cemetery: Where Napa Valley's Founding Father Rests
At the northern edge of Yountville, where Jackson Street meets the quiet shade of sprawling oaks, lies a small patch of ground that holds the soul of Napa Valley. The George C Yount Cemetery—also known as the George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery and the Ancient Indian Burial Grounds—is more than a graveyard. It is a place where two histories converge: the story of California's earliest pioneers and the sacred ground of the Caymus people who lived here long before the first wagon arrived.
The Man Who Started It All
The cemetery takes its name from George Calvert Yount (1794–1865), a figure so central to Napa Valley's origin that the entire town bears his name. Born in Burke County, North Carolina, Yount was a veteran of the War of 1812, a fur trapper, a frontiersman, and ultimately a farmer who became the first United States citizen to receive a Spanish land grant in Napa Valley—the 11,887-acre Caymus Rancho, granted in 1836.
Yount was the embodiment of the American frontier spirit. He built a log blockhouse that served as both home and fortress for early settlers, planted the first grapevines in the valley, and laid out the six-block village that would become Yountville. He encouraged other pioneers to establish ranches in the area, and by the time the Gold Rush began, the valley was already well populated with sturdy American farmers.
When he died on October 5, 1865, at his beloved Rancho Caymus, he was buried here with full Masonic honors. His grave is marked by a prominent marble obelisk, visible from the street, surrounded by an ornate iron fence that has stood for more than a century and a half.
A Cemetery with Two Histories
What makes this cemetery extraordinary is its dual identity. Yount selected this site for his burial ground because it sat adjacent to a much older sacred site—the burial grounds of the Caymus, a local band of the Wappo people who had inhabited this valley for generations. A plaque in the cemetery marks this indigenous burial site, acknowledging that the land's spiritual significance predates American settlement by centuries.
Many Wappo worked on Yount's rancho during the 1840s through the 1860s, and the proximity of their ancestors' resting place to Yount's own grave creates a poignant layering of history—two cultures, two eras, sharing the same hallowed ground.
California Historical Landmark #693
In 1959, the State of California officially recognized the site's importance. A bronze plaque mounted on a boulder at the entrance designates the grave as California Registered Historical Landmark No. 693. The inscription reads:
"George Calvert Yount (1794–1865) was the first United States citizen to be ceded a Spanish land grant in Napa Valley (1836). Skilled hunter, frontiersman, craftsman and farmer, he was the true embodiment of all the finest qualities of an advancing civilization blending with the existing primitive culture."
The plaque was placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Native Daughters and Sons of the Golden West, along with the Yountville Cemetery Association, on October 18, 1959.
Who Else Rests Here?
Though not large—just under 1,000 people have been interred here over roughly 160 years—the cemetery reads like a who's who of early Napa Valley.
Alongside Yount's towering obelisk, you'll find the graves of several Civil War veterans, their military headstones lined up in neat rows. Names like Howard James Wetmore of the 193rd New York Infantry, Charles H. Bingham, and Anthony W. Dozier Jr. mark the final resting places of men who fought to preserve the Union before making their way west to settle in this fertile valley.
The cemetery also holds generations of Napa Valley families whose names still appear on local ranches, roads, and businesses. Walking the rows feels like reading the valley's family tree.
A Quiet Contrast to Modern Yountville
Today, Yountville is world-famous for The French Laundry, Michelin-starred dining, and luxury tasting rooms. But the George C Yount Cemetery offers something entirely different—a moment of stillness in a town that otherwise buzzes with culinary tourism.
The cemetery sits near the Ghost Block vineyard, a 17-acre Cabernet Sauvignon site owned by Yount Mill Vineyards that borders the cemetery's gentle slope. The name "Ghost Block" is a nod to the spirits of pioneers past, and the vineyard's unique terroir—tertiary volcanic formations from an ancient seismic event—adds yet another layer of deep time to this already historic corner of town.
Plan Your Visit
The George C Yount Cemetery is located at Jackson Street, Yountville, CA 94599, near the intersection with Lincoln Avenue. There is no admission fee, and the cemetery is open to respectful visitors during daylight hours.
It's a short walk or bike ride from downtown Yountville, making it an easy addition to a morning of wine tasting or a stroll along the Vine Trail. Bring a camera, a sense of history, and a moment to spare—this quiet grove of oaks and obelisks is where the Napa Valley story truly begins.
George C Yount Cemetery | Jackson St, Yountville, CA 94599, United States
