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The name of the cemetery in Victor, a mining town in Teller County, Colorado, is Sunnyside. I found this amusing because the neighborhood I used to live in previous to where I live now is called "Sunnyside." (and I only live a stone's throw uphill from it now) We found this cemetery late in the day under a brooding sky as sunset approached. The earliest recorded burial is that of a three-year-old who died April 26, 1891, which is when the Cripple Creek and Victor gold rush was in full swing in 1890 and 1891. 

It was quiet and still. A little herd of deer meandered the grounds. In some way deer always give me a sense of calm and peace. I love when they visit my own yard, and they seemed to be excellent stewards of the cemetery grounds. 

From the City of Victor website about the cemetery: "The earliest found marker dates 1891. Historical records inscribed on tombstones with names, dates and, sometimes, faraway places brings to heart and mind the people who have come to the “City of Mines.” Turn-of-the-nineteenth-century pioneers and their children, hard-rock miners, veterans and soldiers from five different wars, as well as, many other individuals are at final rest on this beautiful knoll. Stone carvings, intricate ironwork, and weathered wooden cribs pay tribute to the unique character of those who lived their lives in Victor, Colorado." 

The cemetery residents are granted only the "surface ground," for below that, portions of the Hattie W. lode, the Cemetery lode, the Robert E. Lee lode, and the Anny B. lode all ran beneath parts of the cemetery. Knowing how common mining accidents were and how many deaths attributed to them, it's a little ironic that some people could be buried right above the very cause of their death. 

Erik commented on this section of the cemetery, "These are the cheap seats." Super saver economy class. Most of the text is illegible on the metal plaques affixed to the wooden markers.

 Yet as humble and dilapidated as these may be, they're still a more glorious monument than a tiny marker in the grass. And even those are more opulent than the hundreds of unmarked graves that are in the cemetery. There are at least 50 unmarked "pauper's graves" outside the cemetery fence, recently located with ground-penetrating radar.

Of course there are overwhelming numbers of child graves as in all the old mining town cemeteries. Disease epidemics and the harsh conditions of these high altitude and often remote mining camps and towns swept away children with a regularity I think we in modern day America can hardly fathom. 

I like the tree behind this one ... almost like a weeping willow. But a mountain's evergreen version. 

OK you may be wondering by now, "Where's the rabbit hole? Why hasn't she regaled us with the stories of the people buried here?" As I'm wont to do. I didn't take many photos, as I can't actually hold a proper camera at this time owing to shoulder damage and surgery. So this whole year since February, I've only been able to grab pictures with my cell phone, and while we were in Victor, my arm was still in a bulky post-surgery sling, so it was quite awkward to even manage this. I only took two photos with identifiable names in Sunnyside (the first one of the child above). The only reason I took a photo of Mary Wilhelm below was because of the "Women of Woodcraft" engraving. I had not seen this before. I've seen many "Woodsmen of the World" gravestones in other cemeteries (explained in my Evergreen Cemetery post) as a fraternal order that provided life insurance and gravestones. So it turns out the Women of Woodcraft is an offshoot of that (as one might deduce). Anyway, this is the only place I've seen this order, and I think also down the road in Cripple Creek, so I snapped the photo. 

I decided, of course, to look it up on Find A Grave. And guess what. Wouldn't you know, the one adult grave I gravitated to, Mrs. Mary E. Wilhelm, had quite the notable death. The newspaper write-up is quite riveting, so I will reproduce it for you here. The extensive title, in three sections with different fonts, of a newspaper article from Victor on July 20 read: Victor Man Crushes Wife's Skull With Revolver Butt, Then Puts Bullet In Heart.  PRESSES SMOKING GUN TO OWN TEMPLE; FIRES. [all caps are sic] Occupant of Lonely Cabin on Ranch Near Los Alamos Murdered. And finally the actual article ensues with the kind of dramatic writing I’m not sure you find in newspapers anymore.

 “Pounded on the head with the butt of a revolver until her skull was crushed, with one bullet through her body and blood gushing from her wounds, Mary Wilhelm battled for life tonight with her husband, Charles Wilhelm, until a second bullet through the heart ended her sufferings and her murderer pressed the smoking revolver to his own temple and fell dead at her feet with a bullet through his brain. 

A horrified witness of his mother's death struggle was her son, Frank Wilhelm, 14 years old. The boy ran to summon aid, but had hardly left the house when he heard three shots, and returning found his parents dead. Wilhelm was employed in a local furniture shop. He and his wife had for some time been living in different parts of the city and after leaving work tonight he sought out his wife at her home and they quarreled over trivial matters. The son was the only witness, and he says that they talked considerably, and then he saw his father strike his mother on the head with the revolver. Then an awful struggle ensued. The dead woman's hands were stained with powder marks showing how she had finally placed them in front of the gun in a vain effort to save her life, and had fought on with her slayer after the first shot was fired. The second bullet ended her life and the third killed Wilhelm, passing through his left temple. That Mrs. Wilhelm made a valiant fight to secure possession of the revolver is evident from the marks on the body. Her skull is crushed, the wounds being alone sufficient to have caused death. 

The Wilhelms came to the Cripple Creek district with the early settlers 4 years ago. The domestic troubles had been frequent, but what fired the brain of Wilhelm tonight to take his wife's life and his own will probably ever remain an unsolved mystery. The coroner has decided that inquest is unnecessary.”

So that was the untimely end of Mrs. Wilhelm. With the skies as they were this evening, the hilltop cemetery had a little bit of a spooky feel. 

Thought that one might also be nice in black and white.

So then the Cripple Creek cemetery, just down the road a few miles, is called Mount Pisgah Cemetery. Which also amused me because there is a small "Pisgah Lake" in the network of 4x4 roads in our area. And for whatever reason, Erik and I, as children of the Loony Tunes era, would say when we saw the sign, "Pismo Beach!" -- which some of you will know the cartoon reference. This cemetery is quite large and tours are regularly scheduled. We didn't take a tour, just meandered around a bit ourselves. And here I discovered yet another fraternal order I'd never ever of before: The Improved Order of Redmen. According to their website, they are the oldest fraternal organization chartered by congress in America. Their section is surrounded by a low stone wall. And the tall monument in the middle denotes their order: Tuscarora Tribe No. 39 Instituted March 30, 1896. 

The name on the nearest grave within the wall is Lieutenant David McClintock of the 21st Ohio Infantry in the Civil War. The other names I could make out in the photo are on the far right. Frances Stanke was widowed twice before finding her third husband Otto with whom she is buried here. Her first husband died in a fire and the second in a hunting accident. (hmmm a black widow perhaps? haha)

Some other random shots and graves I thought seemed photogenic.

I took this photo because of the mushrooms. At first glance, they almost look like a skull, like the grave's inhabitant floated up to the surface. But they were just giant mushrooms. 

I couldn't decide which perspective I liked better. Would have liked to get on the ground and look through the round hole to the cross behind, but with my one arm in a sling and a knee replacement still on the recovery, this feat of acrobatics was not in the cards for me. And indeed I took very few photos at all. If you visit Cripple Creek, I would imagine taking an official cemetery tour is worth it ... it's an extensive grounds and this was quite a boom town back in the day with interesting characters buried herein. We saw the tour docents scattered throughout the cemetery in period dress.

So there's a super brief tour of some new-to-me mountain mining town cemeteries. I'll have more about the Victor and Cripple Creek area coming up real soon.  

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