Denver’s first death was in March of 1859, so General Larimer staked a claim for the first city cemeteries 2 and ½ miles “out of town.” Mount Prospect and Mount Calvary Cemeteries were located where Cheesman Park and the Denver Botanic Gardens are today. More than 6,000 graves were moved to Riverside, Fairmount, and Mount Olivet Cemeteries in the 1890s. The land for Mt. Prospect sat vacant until it was converted into a park after Walter Cheesman’s death in 1907. Mt. Calvary was a Catholic cemetery until 1950 when the land was ceded back to the City of Denver and the Denver Botanic Gardens was dedicated 16 years later.
- Courtesy of Andrea Malcomb based on research and presentation by Shaun Boyd, History Colorado. Photo courtesy Denver Public Library.
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