This Denver area was once a Freemason cemetery, so why was it abandoned?

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A liquor store, a yoga studio and several homes and apartment buildings occupy an area of Denver that was once a cemetery for Freemasons and Odd Fellows.

The Denver Public Library’s Time Travelers map shows a block in the Jefferson Park neighborhood labeled as a cemetery, with a quarter of the area dedicated to Freemasons and another quarter dedicated to Odd Fellows.

The land was described by Rocky Mountain News in 1866 as a “fine locality” that would “make a beautiful resting place for the dead.” So, how did it end up as a residential area with businesses?

Researchers at History Colorado teamed up with FOX31 to dig through historic articles to find out what happened.

Late 1850s: Freemasons come to Colorado

According to Denver Lodge No. 5 A.F. and A.M. , the oldest Masonic lodge in Colorado, Masonry arrived in Colorado along with the pioneers in the search for gold. Their first recorded meetings happened in 1858 and 1859.

Rocky Mountain News reported on Aug. 1, 1866, that the Masonic and Odd Fellows of Denver purchased 40 acres of land on the north side of the South Platte River for the Acacia Cemetery, bound between 32nd Avenue and 29th Avenue, and Zuni Street and Tejon Street.

Summer 1867: Acacia Cemetery opens

On May 3, 1867, Rocky Mountain News reported that 10 acres of the land was laid off in lots that were “ready for selection and disposal to members of the order.” The outlet said the site offered “one of the finest and most perfect views of Denver to be had anywhere,” with a “magnificent view of the mountains” for 200 miles.

The burial lots were 10 by 20 feet, with four lots making up a block. The lots were separated by four-foot alleys and the blocks were separated by 20-foot streets. According to the article, each lot cost $10, and proceeds were used to pay for the land and improvements. In the summer of 1867, a fence was built around the ground and there were plans to plant trees and decorate lots.

According to a 2004 historical background article from the Denver Public Library , the Acacia Cemetery was one of the earliest cemeteries in Denver and was open until the late 1870s. History Colorado found articles about burials taking place between 1867 to 1873.

In 1872, according to the library, sections of the former City Cemetery, now Cheesman Park , were set aside for Masons and Odd Fellows.

In February 1873, just six years after Rocky Mountain News said there was “no better or more appropriate place for a cemetery” in town, the Masons and Odd Fellows asked the Denver City Council to be added to the City Cemetery.

Late 1870s: Acacia Cemetery abandoned

In the late 1870s, bodies were moved to City Cemetery. History Colorado found an article from February 1879 stating that residents of the neighborhood petitioned for the city to move the abandoned cemetery.

“A long petition from residents of North Denver asked the board to declare the old Masonic and Odd Fellows’ cemetery in that locality a nuisance, and have the bodies now interred there removed from the cemetery,” the article states.

1880s: Bodies moved, then moved again

By December 1881, the bodies had been removed. History Colorado cites an article from Dec. 18, 1881, that said there were no remaining vestiges of the old Masonic cemetery. That year, the Denver Public Library reports the cemetery was sold to George Trich, who filed the land as “Union Addition” in the city of Denver.

In 1893, the bodies were moved again, this time to the Riverside Cemetery. This is because the city was granted permission by Congress in 1890 to use the City Cemetery land for a park, and burials were ordered to stop in 1893.

Today: Bodies remain under Cheesman Park, records limited

According to the library, 788 bodies were moved to Riverside Cemetery. The Denver Park Commission notified families that they had 90 days to remove their loved one’s remains as the area would be turned into a park.

In his book, The Scenic History of Denver Cemeteries, local historian Phil Goodstein said there remains somewhere between 2,000 to 5,000 bodies, or partial bodies, from City Cemetery that remain under the grass at Cheesman Park.

Goodstein said part of the challenge in estimating how many remain under the park is because Edward P. McGovern was contracted to move the bodies. He was paid $1.90 for each body he moved, and Goodstein explains that he put parts of the same body in different boxes, counting each as a body.

Records of the people who were buried and moved are hard to find. The Denver Public Library article said records of the earliest cemeteries, including Mount Prospect (City Cemetery) and Acacia, “have not survived.” Additionally, Denver did not require death records until 1900, and deaths were not consistently recorded until about 1925.

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