Statement of Significance Columbia Cemetery is significant for its association with Boulder’s early social history and for its collection of significant funerary art. The cemetery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under both Criteria A and B, and meets Criteria Consideration D for its importance as Boulder’s oldest cemetery and the burial place of numerous persons important in Boulder’s history. The cemetery began operation in 1870 and is one of 18 historic cemeteries listed in the NRHP within Colorado. In addition, the cemetery is significant for its collection of funerary art exhibiting the artistry, craftsmanship, and symbolic values associated with late 19th and early 20th century burial practices. The social history associated with Columbia Cemetery dates to the late 1850s as Boulder grew and prospered. Before 1870 Boulder did not have a designated burial ground and a desperate need existed for a pleasant cemetery space. Columbia Cemetery was established in 1870 by the Masons. Boulder’s early history is evident on the inscriptions on the grave markers that depict a wide and diverse cross section of people buried in the cemetery. Columbia Cemetery’s collection of funeral art is significant for the insight it provides into cultural and sociological aspects of Boulder's history. The wide variety of styles, materials, and degree of craftsmanship illustrate evolving late 19th and early 20th century popular and personal tastes. In many cases the markers indicate the socioeconomic status of those commemorated. Some of the markers were fabricated locally, while others were ordered from distant suppliers. In particular, those of white bronze are representative of a gravestone material and fabrication technique popular in the late 19th and early 20th century. Most were produced between 1886 and 1908 at a Des Moines, Iowa, subsidiary of the Monumental Bronze Company. Located throughout the cemetery, some monuments are fairly simple while others are intricately shaped and detailed. 11 Somewhat concentrated in the southern end of the cemetery are plain marble markers of Civil War Veterans, some that simply read, “Union Soldier.” Nearby, in the southwest corner, is a "Potter's Field" (a portion of the cemetery set aside for those who could not afford a grave marker) with markers ranging from rough slabs of concrete to local sandstone, carefully lettered and crafted. One concrete marker has colored marbles pressed into the cement, spelling out the name of a woman. Other examples of vernacular artistry include markers fashioned from plumbing pipe and sheet metal. A few markers were created out of half-carved stones. Other markers of note are two poured concrete markers in the shape of tree trunks, "Woodmen of the World” markers made of stone, and a child's marker that includes a small porcelain portrait of the child. 12
Period of Significance
The period of significance for Columbia Cemetery is 1870 to 1947. The period begins with use of the site for funerary and cemetery purposes and ends fifty years prior to its listing in the NRHP. 13
11 Hudson, “Columbia Cemetery,” Section 8, Page 6. 12 Hudson, “Columbia Cemetery,” Section 8, Page 8. 13 Hudson, “Columbia Cemetery.”
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