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| Landmark #801 | San Joaquin County | Visited: April 4, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A magnificent monument with a carving on top of Reuel Colt Gridley! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Erected in honor of the soldier’s friend, Reuel Colt Gridley, by Rawlins Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and the citizens of Stockton in gratitude for services rendered Union soldiers during the War of the Rebellion, when he collected $275,000 for the Sanitary Commission by selling and reselling a sack of flour.
OTHER TIDBITS: The sack of flour was originally meant for a walk of shame! Mr. Gridley lost the mayoral election in Austin, Nevada, so he walked around town carrying a fifty-pound bag of flour! Being unsure what to do with it at the end, he ended up auctioning it off with proceeds going to the US Sanitary Commission. The donors had so much fun that they never claimed the bag and recommended that Mr. Gridley keep auctioning it off! Mr. Gridley auctioned the flour across the country with his friend, Mark Twain, ending up back in Missouri, where he finally gave up the flour sack to be made into cakes and sold for additional funds for the US Sanitary Commission. He returned to California, penniless and in ill health. The city of Stockton gave Mr. Gridley a leg up, so he decided to be buried there on his death two years later at the age of 41. His grave was originally marked by a wooden cross, but grateful Union veterans got together and sold more flour to raise funds to build a monument in his honor! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: Stockton Rural Cemetery near Memory Chapel Cemetery Ln and E Pine St Stockton, CA 95205 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~339mi (546km) — 5.7hrs |
| When should I go? | The cemetery is open each day from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM! |