By Chris Pattillo

Welcome to the Bennett Valley Cemetery – Sonoma County Historic Landmark No. 39. This historic cemetery was established in 1879 by the original Bennett Valley families and is the final resting place of some of those families. John S. VanDoren of Petaluma deeded the land to the cemetery for $1 . The original trustees were John Hughes Jr. who is buried in plot 263, W.B. Delzell in plot 262, Daniel E. Miller, J.W. Cook, and Alvah W. Park. One of the most prominent occupants is Coleman Talbot (1809-1896), for whom Talbot Avenue is named. Talbot bought 600 acres from James Bennett, was a founding member of the BV Grange, and built his home near the intersection of Bennett Valley and Grange Roads. 

This little cemetery is a three-acre parcel hidden just off Bennett Valley Road – across the street from the Daniel Galvan Community Park and Golf Course, at 4760 Bennett Valley Road. A little tricky to find, but once you do, you’ll discover a peaceful, oak-covered spot. This is a rural cemetery so don’t expect mown lawns and swept pathways. The cemetery has nearly 300 plots including a fair number that remain available for purchase. The middle section, within the circular drive, is mostly occupied, while many of the plots outside the circle are available for either full burial or cremains. Be aware that there is a locked gate so you may not be able to drive into the cemetery, but there is space to park outside the gate and walk in from there.

Chris Gralapp, Editor of the BV Voice and I met with most of the cemetery’s administrative team in June. They are an all-volunteer team of cemetery members who handle every aspect of the operations – from selling plots, to arranging burials, and maintenance and improvement projects. Last year they repaved the circular drive and started working to correct drainage problems. They’ve already done great work clearing brush and poison oak, and have plans for more drainage improvements. They also want to change the layout of some of the larger 16x16 family plots to smaller 8x8 and even 4x8 plots, to better accommodate the current interment trends. They have been replacing the rusted-out plot markers, and doing some headstone restoration work. Most of this is accomplished through volunteer labor while the larger projects and materials are paid for from the sale of burial plots. They also get some help from Sonoma County’s Vegetation Abatement program.

Their team includes Sexton Rick Wiseman; past Sexton James Stettler; Recorder Jean Terribilini; Tim Tanner. Their long- time grave digger is Dudley Willard. They schedule regular work days and invite members and non-members to join them to weed whip, trim, and clean up plots. The next work day is in October. The cemetery group wishes to have the Bennett Valley community consider the cemetery for their families' final resting place. If you are interested contact Jean at jeanterribilini@gmail.com.

Look for follow up articles about Talbot and other residents of the cemetery in future issues of the Voice.