HISTORY & SIGNIFICANCE Historic Context Statement of Context
Columbia Cemetery is a 10.5 acre property approximately one mile south of downtown Boulder. The cemetery is significant for its social history, collection of funerary art, and as an active cemetery. The period of significance for the property begins with the cemetery’s establishment in 1870 and ends in 1947. The cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and was designated a local landmark by the City of Boulder Landmarks Board and City of Boulder City Council in 1977. The Columbia Cemetery consists of a grid of burial plots, grave markers, Pioneer Gateway, 1860 New Anderson Ditch, Maintenance Shed, perimeter fencing, roads and paths, and vegetation. Background History Beginning in the late 1850s, the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains attracted miners and ranchers. As the region experienced an influx of pioneers, the town of Boulder grew and prospered. Before Columbia Cemetery was established, Boulder did not have a designated burial ground. Instead, bodies were interred in the wild or on the crest of Lover’s Hill. A need for a more pleasant cemetery space resulted in the establishment of Columbia Cemetery in 1870. The land was purchased by Columbia Lodge No. 14, A.F. and A.M., a Masonic order. The cemetery was developed on a geometric grid with rectilinear paths and drives, and shrubbery and flowers at individual plots. A diverse cross section of the population was interred at the cemetery that included miners, cattle drivers, ranchers, university professors, local businessmen, war veterans, members of fraternal organizations, and victims of epidemics. 5 From 1910 to 1965, Columbia Cemetery was owned by the Park Cemetery Association. During this time the cemetery evolved into a more formal burial ground with a park-like appearance. Burial plots had designated ownership, and the cemetery had regular maintenance. The grounds were improved with a stone gateway, perimeter metal fence, gravel roads, and tree and shrub planting in the 1920s. 6 Since 1965, Columbia Cemetery has been under the ownership of the City of Boulder and administered as a part of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. (The Columbia Cemetery Preservation Master Plan was completed in 1996 and since that time volunteer work has repaired and restored the cemetery.) Definition of the Context Columbia Cemetery is associated the with Social History within the City of Boulder and Funerary Art. The landscape maintains historic integrity and reflects both the rural and garden cemetery styles, popular during the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. The cemetery had an impact on the community by becoming the main burial ground for Boulder's citizenry, and as the city grew, became a peaceful public park. The cemetery remains a major historic site and place of respite for the Boulder community. Development of the Theme or Area of Significance The creation of Columbia Cemetery was part of a national trend in the second half of the 19th century of constructing cemeteries outside of developed cities. Garden cemeteries emerged in the eastern United States starting in the 1830s as part of what is known as the rural cemetery movement. Early American proponents of cemetery design were influenced by European romanticism, especially in England and France, as it was applied to private and public gardens, parks, and other landscapes such as cemeteries. The first planned American cemetery to be developed in accordance with principles of the romanticism and the rural cemetery movement was the 1831 Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Among the concepts employed were the cemetery had to be substantial in size, located on the outskirts of town, offer visitors a good view, be laid out with a pattern of carriage roads and defined burial sections, hold a variety of funerary art, and exhibit landscaping that over time would mature into a park-like setting with an expanse of grass, trees, shrubs, and flower beds. 7
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Hudson, “Columbia Cemetery,” Section 8, Page 6. Hudson, “Columbia Cemetery,” Section 8, Page 10.
7 Ron Sladek. “Golden Cemetery,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 2011).
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