Decoration Day in Old Gilpin

Rollinsville mountain Memorial Day celebration

Forrest Whitman

05/29/2008 - This past Sunday, some of the folks from the little Rollinsville Church strolled up to an old cemetery with flowers in hand. Some of the old timers around Gilpin still refer to this practice as “Decoration Day.” It used to be the day to place flowers on the graves of loved ones, perhaps say a prayer, and reunite with old friends and family members. Now the day has become “Memorial Day” a day to remember armed services members who have passed away. In any case the cemetery, sometimes called the “Old Gilpin Cemetery,” is interesting and worth a visit.

  Many historians think the old burying ground near the long abandoned town site of Gilpin City could be Colorado's oldest final resting place for Europeans. Others point out that Spanish cemeteries in Costilla County are probably at least as old as are some French burying grounds in the north of the state. In any case it's a very old site. Folks are welcome to take a belated Memorial Day Sunday stroll if they aren't familiar with the area. The “cemetery,” really a burying ground, is out by the crossroads of Gilpin Road and Lump Gulch and is a short stroll uphill through the woods. It's certainly packed with memories.

  This particular small “cemetery stroll” held a lot of meaning for many mountain folks, especially in the north end of the county. Those of us who met at the Rollinsville store at 11 last Sunday morning for the trip participated in a very old mountain ritual. Some old timers tell me that some years a dozen or more folks would gather up there to decorate the cemetery for what was then called “Decoration Day Sunday.” We took a flower or two along to place on the graves or just in the general area. I’ve worn my minister hat up there a few times too. That's when ashes were scattered after a memorial service, so I have some personal memories. There are interesting Colorado historical memories as well.

The Story of the Old Graves

  When the French fur traders moved through these parts they had a temporary trading post not far downhill from the burying ground. This has been researched and it seems to have been a good sized operation for the times with a cabin and cellar, pens and so on. That's all been dug up by treasure hunters long ago, but the cabin site is still there. A few trappers are buried up there according to local historians. I like to imagine what a lively place that trading post was during the height of the beaver trade. Local Indians would bring in loads of pelts and trade for food, guns, and sometimes booze. The French would load up bundles of beaver pelts and head north to exotic places like Fort St. Vrain and Canada. French trappers were not the first to be buried there of course. Ute Indian burials on the site are apparently far older. Several miners and their family members who lived in the Town of Gilpin were buried there too, which adds to the story. Then there’s the well known story of the Mormon emigrant family.

  During the 19th century Rollinsville was a stopping place for many wagon trains of settlers moving up and over Corona pass. Generally they were guided by old John Quincy Adam Rollins himself. The “emigrant trains” paid him a toll for the service and used his wagon road. Several wagon trains were made up of Mormons escaping persecution back east and bound for the promised land of Deseret in today's Utah. More than once they had to take the wagon wheels off and lower the wagons by means of ropes to get over the steepest pitches. Five graves marked out by circles of stones tell a special story about one party.

  Bonnie Cashion was a local historian who's memory we kept alive this past Sunday. She did a great deal of research about one Mormon family that didn’t make it up and over Rollins Pass. They had a child who came down with a fever and quickly died. Soon the entire family showed signs of sickness. They stayed behind (most probably at the direction of the wagon master). They are buried up in the old cemetery, victims of some disease. A Mormon historical society has visited the site and told Bonnie of some rituals they did and described recording the site in a genealogical museum. According to Bonnie, they approved of the circles of rocks placed around the graves of mother, father and three small children. We placed a flower there in memory of that family and their tragic story.

Volunteers

  There are probably several folks who do a bit of care taking up at the cemetery, but one couple in particular deserves thanks. A couple of years ago there was some minor vandalism on the site. Some of the stone circles were kicked aside. Apparently some motor bike tracks went over graves. Some trash was left around also. That's when the Dunkles went into action. They spent some time tidying up the site and still keep an eye on things on their daily walks. Something of the magic of the place does seem to have taken hold of this couple. They enjoy their volunteer role, just as Bonnie Cashion used to enjoy telling the tales of the place.

Newer Burial Practices

  Only two or three contemporary graves hold actual remains of loved ones. These days the practice in these mountains is cremation. That’s for one very practical reason. Attempting to actually dig a grave around here is very difficult indeed. A few romantics (my deceased sister was one) think being buried without a coffin makes sense. Their argument is that their bodies will thus nurture the soil and all the creatures of the earth. I love that sentiment, but it’s a really hard burial to accomplish. In fact, I've not seen it done very successfully in our granite hillsides. There's also the problem of burials on private ground. Every mountain house is sooner or later sold or inherited. The new owners often aren't pleased when they're told someone was buried nearby. 

  Since it’s on US Forest Service ground, there’s a rule against placing headstones. The rings of stones around graves seem to have escaped any “official” notice as of yet. Much local lore exists about which graves are “Indian,” which are “French,” and which are the graves of the gold miners who lived briefly in the Town of Gilpin down the road. A few new rings of stones mark contemporary spots where some ashes were scattered. But “which is which” doesn’t seem to matter. Most folks who have had ashes scattered there don't want notice.

A Peaceful Place

  It's a peaceful place where more than once I've heard a hermit thrush singing in the late afternoon. A family of bluebirds is on the wires down by the road year after year. The trees up there seem to bend gently in the wind and the lighting is rather subdued even at noon. It's a good place to say a prayer for the rest of all souls, and we did that this past Memorial Day Sunday.