Central City Cemeteries

Geocaching in the Central City (Colorado) cemeteries was the second or maybe main reason for spending the Fourth of July in the old mining town. Our research showed about four cemetery geocaches. Our friends, Neil and Marlene, shared the cemeteries were a MUST DO because they were rather unique. I so agree. Unique because of their natural/nature state, because of the number of them in an almost ghost town, and unique because of their history.

Our tour guide mentioned 11 cemeteries. There were several more out in the area mountains, but I was excited about the six we did find.

lots of native flowers growing 

interesting fencing

old cracked/broken headstones

interesting headstones

Kitty was the wife

LOVED the flowers

Knight of Pythias

normal entrance, lots of natural flora

Catholic Cemetery

climbed a staircase over the fence to get in

Hubby walking the 'road' to the cache

small, pink flowers

35 years old, probably a miner

coke oven in the Catholic Cemetery

German immigrant

another interesting fence or

headstone barrier

Odd Fellows Cemetery founded in 1865

we climbed steps over the fence to enter this one, too

a couple of tree trunk headstones

couldn't enter this one, gate locked

hadn't thought of cemeteries as private property

I do now!

the gate to the closed/locked Masonic Cemetery

the most unique one of the day

a cemetery for one person

Clara A. Dulaney, daughter

age 1 year, 5 months, 12 days

her grave site was well-kept

more CO flowers

So climbing steps to go over fences to enter a cemetery was something new. I think there were two reasons are this. The first is because there was a very popular dirt bike track near three of the climb the steps cemeteries. I suppose not everyone would respect the final resting places. Two other nearby cemeteries were not gated or fenced or locked and the dirt bikers had not been in them, that we noticed. The second reason is the private property issue. Other folks had used the steps and were walking among the headstones, some looking for the oldest headstone in each cemetery. It was only the one fenced, locked-gate cemetery that had the private property sign posted on the fence, the Masonic Cemetery.

The fun, winning few minutes we spent at Easy Street Casino and the interesting, unique cemeteries in Central City made 2016 Fourth of July a memorable one.