The Rural Cemetery is a sloping, partly overgrown 17-acre burial ground above McDonald Avenue, founded in 1854. It is one of the older surviving pieces of pre-earthquake Santa Rosa, and the granite obelisks and ironwork hint at how prosperous the small town once was. Most visitors come for the grave of Robert L. Ripley, but the cemetery is also the resting place of several California pioneers and Civil War veterans.
The Sonoma County Historical Society offers guided tours on the second Saturday of each month from spring through autumn, and there is a downloadable self-guided map on the city's website.