Colorado Cemetery History

    By Paula King, Northern Denver Suburbs Expert

    I love the rich history of Colorado that I find within just a few miles of my suburban Denver home. Sometimes, I find our history in unusual places.

Not too long ago, I was leisurely driving down County Line Road, which divides Weld and Boulder Counties northwest of Downtown Denver.  As I glanced to my left I saw what looked to be like an old cemetery, which I had never noticed before.  I pulled off the road and had a peek.  It looked like Boot Hill but it was Pleasantview Cemetery. 

And what terrific views it has!  Across meadows to Long’s Peak, one of the famous "14ers" of the Rocky Mountains.  It only holds 14 graves, was covered with tall weeds and had gravestones dating from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.

 

I was intrigued.  I called one of my clients and close friends, Susan.  She has a website devoted to her family and is heavy into genealogy.  She gave me Pauli Smith’s information.  He is cataloging cemeteries.  I contacted him at http://hollyhockfarms.com/coweld and told him about my discovery to see if he knew anything about it.  He did, but, nobody had recorded the gravestones and he knew it was in disrepair.

    I determined that I, with the help of Susan, was going to see that these people were not forgotten.  So, we recently took a few hours and made a schematic of the grave locations, recorded the information and took pictures.  Susan had obtained a list on line as to what to bring (grass clippers, scrubber pads, bottle of spray water, plastic pad for kneeling, etc.) that was very helpful.

Many died in 1904.  Was there an epidemic?  The county records don’t indicate that, so, further research is needed.  Quite a few were very young.  It really made you think about the difficult life these pioneer families had to deal with.    One 8 year old’s inscription read "Budded on earth to bloom in heaven."  And, several had an emblem that contained the words "woodman of the world."  Gotta check that out, too.

There is a century old farmhouse down the road that is called Pleasantview Farm.  Could this have been the family grave site, or, was there a town called Pleasantview that no longer exists?  Across the road is a house that looks like it could have been an old schoolhouse.  More research.

Ancestry is so fascinating.  This has spurred me to research my own roots.  It is amazing what is right around you that you never notice, but can open doors to discovery.

 

May 20, 2008 | Filed Under North Suburbs 

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