Adams County, CO Genealogy/History

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Index
Riverside Cemetery
Commerce City, Adams County

5201 Brighton Boulevard
Denver, CO 80216
(303) 293-2466
FAX (303) 293-2803

Riverside Cemetery is the Denver area's oldest existing cemetery. Twelve early Denver area settlers first conceived the idea of a private rural cemetery for the citizens of Denver and the surrounding area. Three years after the city of Denver acquired City Cemetery (formerly Mount Prospect Cemetery) this dozen men met to hammer out papers of incorporation and find a location for the new burial site. Dr. John Morrison "offered to sell to the incorporators one hundred sixty acres of land which lay on the east bank of the South Plate River about four miles downstream from Denver's business district." The offer was accepted and the next day The Denver Tribune reported, "Denver will shortly be favored with a resting place for the dead that cannot fail to be a credit to the city."

The Riverside Cemetery Association was officially incorporated on April 1, 1876 with a capital stock of $2,000 divided into twenty shares. Among the original twenty stockholders were:

Benjamin F. Woodward, Superintendent of the telegraph system of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
Herman Beckurts, editor & owner of The Denver Tribune
John F. Spalding, a bishop of the Episcopal Church of Denver
Daniel Hurd, President of the School Board for School District One and a member of the state's Constitutional Convention
Job A Cooper, later a Governor of Colorado
Richard E. Whitsitt, an original member of the Denver Town Company in 1858
Francis M. Case, former Mayor of Denver
Roger W. Woodbury, editor & proprietor of The Denver Times
Dr. John H. Morrison, original owner of the land

The stockholders elected Benjamin F. Woodward, President and Henri R. Foster, Secretary.

Though Riverside fell on hard times a little over a century ago it can still claim the distinction of being the first beautifully landscaped and appointed cemetery in the Rocky Mountain West, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Riverside was acquired by the Fairmount Cemetery Association on January 10, 1900 and, though miles

Like an old grande dame of the Victorian age, Riverside shows the wear and tear of the years, but the beauty and integrity of times past still shines through.

Source: Halaas, David Fridtjof, Fairmount & Historic Colorado, (Denver, 1976), pages 24-27, 46

This site is an attempt to index as many Riverside Cemetery interments as possible in one place. They will be collected from various sources, not the least of which will be you, the visitor to these pages. There are over 66,000 occupants. Please consider submitting to this index.

If you have ancestors, family, or friends buried at Riverside Cemetery, please, send the information to
Carolyn Golowka

All Woodmen of the World names were contributed by Jim Davenport.

For veteran burials through 1949 see Interment.Net Riverside Cemetery (These were abstracted from the Colorado State Archives Colorado Veterans’ Grave Registrations 1862 - 1949)

Most records that indicate that the information is taken from "Funeral Notice, Rocky Mountain News" contributed by Rita Timm (Colorado Clues)

These records are here to assist researchers. The webmaster makes no claim of accuracy; primary records should be consulted whenever possible.

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