Cheesman Park

The removal began smooth, but soon turned into mayhem. Bodies became mixed with other bodies; in many cases bodies were placed into two containers so they would count as double payment. Grave robbing became common not only by the workers, but by the many onlookers that were present daily. There were even reports of workers and onlookers playing catch with skulls from the graves, and throwing the bones about as if playing some kind of morbid game. It is also during this time that legend has a mysterious woman approached the workers and told them to say a prayer over each body as they removed them, and if this was not done, the souls of those passed would never find rest and would return.

Soon, all the workers as well as the onlookers began feeling uneasy with the task that lay before them. Workers began reporting voices and groans. People in the nearby homes began reporting knocking at their doors and windows at night. Hearing screams, moans, and voices, and seeing manifested spirits in their homes and on the streets which appeared to be confused and looking for their resting place. Groaning sounds were reported to come from the field of opened graved at night, and this sound is said to continue to this day in the park.

By the time Mayor Rogers returned to town, the local newspapers were running storied of the atrocities being committed at the cemetery, and the corruption that came with this project. A full-blown scandal had erupted, and the project was brought to a halt. The remaining bodies were left buried and soon forgotten. They now lie beneath this beautiful, peaceful park.

In 1907, City Cemetery was turned into Cheesman Park, named for Walter Cheesman, a prominent Denver Businessman. In 1909, the pavilion was constructed. In 1950, the Catholic Church sold the section they owned, and removed the bodies resting there with great care and concern. This land became the Denver Botanical Gardens. What was the Jewish section is now Congress Park.

Though many years have passed, the Spirits of those disturbed more than a century ago remain. Reports continue to this day of voices and groans coming from the park at night. Nearby homes continue to report apparitions, strange sounds and moaning and the knocking of windows and doors. And many people that come to this beautiful park, unaware of this dark chapter of history, feel a strange feeling when they enter the park. A feeling of sadness, loss, confusion, and an uneasiness that they cannot explain. Many still report misty figures and strange shadows in the park, and ghostly images wandering as if confused. It is both a place of beauty and of sadness. A park for both the residents of Denver, and the lost souls of City Cemetery. We can only hope that they can find peace…