TeenageRepublican
10-13-2007, 06:46 PM
Cheesman Park
Cemetery & Park
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch4.jpg
Everyone has heard stories about homes being built on old cemeteries. How greedy developers neglected to relocate the bodies. That the end result was unhappy spirits haunting these new homes. Here is a story about the old city cemetery that became a city park in the heart of Denver.
In 1859 the area now known as Cheesman Park was given to the people of Denver for use as a cemetery by an act of Congress (this location was located on an old Arapaho Indian burial ground) Will Larimer, who founded and laid out the first streets in Denver, named the place Mt. Prospect.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/monument.jpg
The first person buried in the cemetery was possibly Mr. John Stoefel who was hanged on a Cottonwood tree at the intersection of 10th and Cherry Creek. He was executed for killing his brother in law. another famous burial was on March 30 1859. It was Mr. Jack O'Neill, he was ggunned down at a local Saloon a man by the name of "Rooker" because of a previous argument. The rocky Mountain News printed the story and because of the story the park became known as "Jack O'Neils ranch"
<>http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/communitygarden.jpgOver time different areas were designated for a variety of purposes. There was a burial place for the Grand Army of the Republic, the Odd Fellows, Society, Masons, Chinese and of course Potters field. It is the poor inhabitants of Potters field that is of most interest. The Potters field section was just behind a "hospital" that was commonly referred to as the "Pest house" this was that place that victims of small pox were quaranined & sick, elderly and invalids went to die. The building had a mass grave for the people who died at the location and it is in the approximate area of the community garden at the current Botanic Gardens.
The Roman Catholic section of the cemetery is now the area known as the Botanic gardens/Congress park. Mayor Bates sold 40 acres of land to the archdiocese, Father Machebeuf of the Roman Catholic church managed the purchase. The section was named Mount Calvary Cemetery and was eventually sold back to the city.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/congresspark.jpgThe Jewish section was known as the "Hebrew Burying and Prayer Ground" was purchased by the Hebrew Burial Society in 1875. The bodies from this section were removed in 1923, then it was leased back to the city "forever" and has been the location of a reservoir up to this time.
The Chinese section of the cemetery was given to a large population of Chinese who lived in the "Hop Alley" section of Denver. When the bodies were removed from this section it was used as a shrub nursery until 1930. Then it was annexed into being part of Congress park.
The present day Cheesman park was mostly the Protestant portion of the cemetery.
<CENTER>http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/citycemetary.jpg
</CENTER>
While all of this was taking place, the ownership of the land changed to John J Walley (A cabinet maker). He did not do anything to help the condition of the property. Meanwhile the public was attempting to shut down the cemetery because the area was not the beautiful garden/cemetery that the city wanted. It was discovered that the property was part of a land treaty that predated 1860, so the current owner had no legal right to the property. The U.S. sold the land to the city of Denver and Mayor Bates had the city pay a total of $200.00.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch1.jpg http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch2.jpg
By another Act of Congress dated January 25th, 1890 the city was authorized to vacate this parcel of property known as Mt. Prospect Cemetery from a place of burial to a public park. In recognition of Congress doing this for the city, Senator Teller changed the parks name to Congress park. It was the responsibility of the living relatives to relocate the bodies of these dearly departed. However those interned at Potters field generally had no family or during the course of their lives participated in activities that guaranteed that none of the living would claim them as relatives. The city contracted undertaker E. P. McGovern to remove these bodies at a cost of $1.90 each and for them to be transported to Riverside Cemetery. This gruesome work began on March 14, 1893.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch5.jpg
<BIG><BIG>Mr. McGovern was using caskets that were 1 foot wide by 3 1/2 feet long (Children's caskets). This was the only size casket available because of a Mining accident in Utah that had caused a shortage of Adult caskets. Because of this he could not fit one body into a single casket, so he broke up most of the bodies to fit into the small caskets. This was a good deal for Mr. McGovern because he was being paid by the body moved. However there were discrepancies in the record keeping because of this and the records themselves being in such disorder. The health commissioner an investigation into the matter done and it was one of the final decisions to halt the removal of the bodies and seal the land.
</BIG></BIG>
<BIG><BIG>
</BIG></BIG>
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch6.jpg On March 19, 1893 the Denver Republican headline proclaimed "The Work of Ghouls". The article revealed that workman in charge of removing the bodies were breaking them into fragments and distributing the remains into "two and sometimes three of the boxes in which they are conveyed to the new burial site." The boxes provided by the undertaker were three feet six inches long. Due to the dry soil many of the bodies exhumed were rather well preserved. It must have been a gruesome site to witness intact remains being shattered and stuffed into these undersized boxes. The newsman described the scene; "The line of desecrated graves at the southern boundary of the cemetery sickened and horrified everybody by the appearance they presented. Around their edges were piled broken coffins, rent and tattered shrouds and fragments of clothing that had been torn from the dead bodies...All were trampled into the ground by the footsteps of the gravediggers like rejected junk."
Read more here:
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/Cheese.htm
Wow, I've actually been to this park! I first heard this about three years ago when I started getting interested in horror. I'm coming along with the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society next time they go there, at least I'm going to try.
As for you Texans out there, here is a sister society:
http://www.lonestarparanormal.com/
Man, where's Steven Spielberg when you need him? This seems like that movie "Poltergeist" except it's a park instead of a house.
Cemetery & Park
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch4.jpg
Everyone has heard stories about homes being built on old cemeteries. How greedy developers neglected to relocate the bodies. That the end result was unhappy spirits haunting these new homes. Here is a story about the old city cemetery that became a city park in the heart of Denver.
In 1859 the area now known as Cheesman Park was given to the people of Denver for use as a cemetery by an act of Congress (this location was located on an old Arapaho Indian burial ground) Will Larimer, who founded and laid out the first streets in Denver, named the place Mt. Prospect.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/monument.jpg
The first person buried in the cemetery was possibly Mr. John Stoefel who was hanged on a Cottonwood tree at the intersection of 10th and Cherry Creek. He was executed for killing his brother in law. another famous burial was on March 30 1859. It was Mr. Jack O'Neill, he was ggunned down at a local Saloon a man by the name of "Rooker" because of a previous argument. The rocky Mountain News printed the story and because of the story the park became known as "Jack O'Neils ranch"
<>http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/communitygarden.jpgOver time different areas were designated for a variety of purposes. There was a burial place for the Grand Army of the Republic, the Odd Fellows, Society, Masons, Chinese and of course Potters field. It is the poor inhabitants of Potters field that is of most interest. The Potters field section was just behind a "hospital" that was commonly referred to as the "Pest house" this was that place that victims of small pox were quaranined & sick, elderly and invalids went to die. The building had a mass grave for the people who died at the location and it is in the approximate area of the community garden at the current Botanic Gardens.
The Roman Catholic section of the cemetery is now the area known as the Botanic gardens/Congress park. Mayor Bates sold 40 acres of land to the archdiocese, Father Machebeuf of the Roman Catholic church managed the purchase. The section was named Mount Calvary Cemetery and was eventually sold back to the city.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/congresspark.jpgThe Jewish section was known as the "Hebrew Burying and Prayer Ground" was purchased by the Hebrew Burial Society in 1875. The bodies from this section were removed in 1923, then it was leased back to the city "forever" and has been the location of a reservoir up to this time.
The Chinese section of the cemetery was given to a large population of Chinese who lived in the "Hop Alley" section of Denver. When the bodies were removed from this section it was used as a shrub nursery until 1930. Then it was annexed into being part of Congress park.
The present day Cheesman park was mostly the Protestant portion of the cemetery.
<CENTER>http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/citycemetary.jpg
</CENTER>
While all of this was taking place, the ownership of the land changed to John J Walley (A cabinet maker). He did not do anything to help the condition of the property. Meanwhile the public was attempting to shut down the cemetery because the area was not the beautiful garden/cemetery that the city wanted. It was discovered that the property was part of a land treaty that predated 1860, so the current owner had no legal right to the property. The U.S. sold the land to the city of Denver and Mayor Bates had the city pay a total of $200.00.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch1.jpg http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch2.jpg
By another Act of Congress dated January 25th, 1890 the city was authorized to vacate this parcel of property known as Mt. Prospect Cemetery from a place of burial to a public park. In recognition of Congress doing this for the city, Senator Teller changed the parks name to Congress park. It was the responsibility of the living relatives to relocate the bodies of these dearly departed. However those interned at Potters field generally had no family or during the course of their lives participated in activities that guaranteed that none of the living would claim them as relatives. The city contracted undertaker E. P. McGovern to remove these bodies at a cost of $1.90 each and for them to be transported to Riverside Cemetery. This gruesome work began on March 14, 1893.
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch5.jpg
<BIG><BIG>Mr. McGovern was using caskets that were 1 foot wide by 3 1/2 feet long (Children's caskets). This was the only size casket available because of a Mining accident in Utah that had caused a shortage of Adult caskets. Because of this he could not fit one body into a single casket, so he broke up most of the bodies to fit into the small caskets. This was a good deal for Mr. McGovern because he was being paid by the body moved. However there were discrepancies in the record keeping because of this and the records themselves being in such disorder. The health commissioner an investigation into the matter done and it was one of the final decisions to halt the removal of the bodies and seal the land.
</BIG></BIG>
<BIG><BIG>
</BIG></BIG>
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/ch6.jpg On March 19, 1893 the Denver Republican headline proclaimed "The Work of Ghouls". The article revealed that workman in charge of removing the bodies were breaking them into fragments and distributing the remains into "two and sometimes three of the boxes in which they are conveyed to the new burial site." The boxes provided by the undertaker were three feet six inches long. Due to the dry soil many of the bodies exhumed were rather well preserved. It must have been a gruesome site to witness intact remains being shattered and stuffed into these undersized boxes. The newsman described the scene; "The line of desecrated graves at the southern boundary of the cemetery sickened and horrified everybody by the appearance they presented. Around their edges were piled broken coffins, rent and tattered shrouds and fragments of clothing that had been torn from the dead bodies...All were trampled into the ground by the footsteps of the gravediggers like rejected junk."
Read more here:
http://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/Cheese.htm
Wow, I've actually been to this park! I first heard this about three years ago when I started getting interested in horror. I'm coming along with the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society next time they go there, at least I'm going to try.
As for you Texans out there, here is a sister society:
http://www.lonestarparanormal.com/
Man, where's Steven Spielberg when you need him? This seems like that movie "Poltergeist" except it's a park instead of a house.