Denver's Cheesman Park
The park was Mount Prospect Cemetery in a former life (1859 to 1872), Denver City Cemetery in another (1872 to 1890),
and some 2,000 bodies still remain buried beneath the grassed-over acres.
The bodies in Cheesman Park were left behind after a botched 1890s deal to change the area into a park and relocate the corpses.
The city chose the lowest bid, which was $1.90 per corpse to relocate the bodies in the summer of 1893. Soon, reports of looting and grave robbing were sweeping the area. People with loved ones in the park were told they had 90 days to move the corpses, Goodstein said. Many missed the deadline, thus estimates are between 2,000 and 3,000 remaining souls don't necessarily rest there in peace.
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http://www.gogomagazine.com/0223/coverstory.html DENVER'S GHOST MAN |
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| Along the tour, Goodstein tells the stories of many former residents who lived in the Victorian mansions that line the park. Along the way, he indulges tourists with stories of scandals and ghosts. The most interesting of the ghost stories include the park's link to a Hollywood horror movie, the experiences of residents who live around the park and his own experiences in the park. He pointed out the location that was the inspiration for the 1980 horror flick "The Changeling." As Goodstein tells it, a musical genius who lived in a house that once stood at 1313 Williams St. was rattled by a bouncing ball he kept hearing in the attic. Upon further investigation, he discovered the diary of a young boy who reportedly was locked away there a century before. It was a young, sickly boy, who would have inherited a fortune when he grew older. Being plagued by a disease that would have prevented him from living that long, his family apparently adopted a replacement boy for him and locked him away. Residents of a complex now standing at that spot tell of a red bouncing ball that comes out of nowhere. Or how some people have seen a sickly child consistent with the story. Coloradoan. |
Phil Goodstein runs "The Ghosts of Cheesman Park," & teaches at Denver Free University
And yet another interesting legend: "On a full eclipse of a blue moon at midnight, those standing on the steps of the Pavilion will not see Cheesman Park," Goodstein said. "They'll see a grave-filled cemetery!"
The tour is during the day. Tours meet at the south plaza of the Center for the People of Capitol Hill/TearsMcFarlane Mansion, 1290 Williams St. At last checking the cost is $10. Information: (303) 333-1095. |
| The Denver Civic Center's Cheesman Park used to be the City Cemetery, before that it was known as Boot Hill, and before that the Mount Prospect Graveyard. Lots of bodies were buried here, many of them criminals, epidemic victims and the indigent. In 1893 town fathers advised the City Cemetery that they had 90 days to move all graves to Riverside Cemetery. An undertaking company was hired for the task; 1X3-foot pine boxes were used, remains were broken and shoveled into these tiny receptacles with horrific results. Eyewitnesses recall that 'remains littered the ground, the workers looted the graves...' -- such was the chaos left behind by the undertaker and his henchman that the city eventually had to plow over the area, miscellaneous remains and grave items included. Grass and trees were planted over the desecrated ground creating what is today's modern Cheesman Park. Source |
The first burials to take place here were the victims of crime and violence. A Hungarian immigrant named John Stoefel had come to Denver to settle a dispute with his brother-in-law and ended up murdering him. After a short trial, Stoefel was dragged away by a mob and hanged from a cottonwood tree. He and his brother-in-law were then taken to Mount Prospect and their bodies were unceremoniously dumped into the same grave. Murder victims and those killed in accidents continued to be buried in the lower sections of the cemetery and the name Mount Prospect began to fall out of use. Most people simply referred to the place as the "Old Boneyard" or "Boot Hill". The cemetery failed to gain the respect and reverence that William Larimer intended for it to have. |
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Meanwhile, ownership of the cemetery passed from Larimer to a cabinetmaker
named John J. Walley, who soon went into the undertaking business. He did
little to improve the situation in the cemetery and with new homes and
mansions being built nearby, the city government was being pressured to do
something about it. They soon found a way to pull a fast one over on owner
John Walley. Out of the blue, someone in the U.S. Government discovered that
the cemetery was on land that was part of an Indian treaty that dated back
to before 1860. This made the United States the legitimate owner of the
property and in 1890, they sold it to the city of Denver for $200. |
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