Union Cemetery took its name from the Civil War-era controversy that erupted three years after its beginnings in 1859. In California, pro- and anti-slavery feelings ran high, and the cemetery's founders strongly opposed the secessionist sentiment that threatened the nation's unity. A dispute over the cemetery's ownership led the state to enact its first cemetery legislation, though those provisions did not affect Union Cemetery. The 1859 law allowed for the incorporation of rural burial grounds. The state of California owned Union Cemetery from 1859 until 1962, when it was deeded to Redwood City.