After the first cemetery was washed out by a flood, the citizens of Idaho Springs (another Colorado mining town) located the new cemetery on a steep hillside along Chicago Creek, just to the south of town.
The hillsides here are so steep that many of the burial plots have been shored up with stonework or concrete. I can only imagine how rough it was to dig a grave....
Hubby and I didn't do much exploring the day we were at the Idaho Springs Cemetery. It was late in the day, we were tired from exploring the Georgetown Cemetery and the sun was at the wrong angle to get good photos.
We did find several interesting tombstones close to the cemetery roads. But we plan on going back soon to hike the hills and see what 'stories' the tombstones have to tell us.
I bet that graveyard doesn't get a lot of visitors. Nice that you stopped and looked, an act of remembrance for all who lie there.
ReplyDeleteI just love cemeteries! And this one looks interesting, like you said...there are stories there just waiting to be told! I especially like the tall one that is so ornate, that's very pretty! Great photos even if the sun wasn't cooperating!
ReplyDeleteThis cemetery looks like one that would be in Scotland with all the heather. Love the rugged look to it.
ReplyDeleteIt looks rugged and rough there. Hard to imagine that they could dig graves there. Did it feel sad and sombre...spiritless? That is just an impression I got from looking at the pictures.
ReplyDeleteRobin, Interesting that you would say that. This cemetery felt very much like the Dillon cemetery which I wrote about earlier in the year. They both had a "non-feeling" - almost a sterile feel. Very spiritless, like you stated. Both of those cemeteries had been moved from their original locations - making me wonder if that had anything to do with their lack of spirit.
ReplyDeleteI'm anxious to go back and wander to see if the second trip raises any spirits.
Robin hit the nail on the head! Interesting story that the first one got washed away, and I too bet that when that happened and the new one was put up, it lost its "feel".
ReplyDeleteI visited the cemetery yesterday, and one thing I noticed was that so many of the headstones were of children 2 and under, mostly between 1895 and 1911. I know life was hard in those days, but I wonder if some disease swept through the town during that time. I agree that the cemetery lacked a feeling, but there are some very old souls buried there. The oldest I noticed was born in 1830. It's so steep, it was difficult to read some of the headstones.
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