History buffs and ghost-story fans can meet the residents of the Masonic Cemetery in Central City today during the 22nd annual Cemetery Crawl.
Costumed members of the Gilpin Historical Society will take groups of visitors on a meandering tour of the gravestones, where other costumed actors will represent the pioneers buried at the site. Over the course of the tour, participants will hear the “firsthand” stories of a dozen different residents.
“It takes about an hour to meet them all,” says David Forsyth, executive director of the Gilpin Historical Society. “One of the more prominent residents is Ferdinand French, a former mayor of Central City who was killed in a hotel explosion in Denver,” he says. The Masonic Cemetery is also home to Robert and Catherine Cameron’s graves, along with their son John. His grave is the site of one of the most famous ghost stories from Central City, that of the “Columbine Lady.”
“The Cameron family owned the original patent on the Coeur d’Alene mine overlooking Central City, and John Cameron was popular in the town,” Forsyth says. As the story goes, when John Cameron died suddenly in 1884, a mysterious woman — rumored to be Cameron’s heartbroken fiancee — came to his funeral on Nov. 1, 1884, and placed columbines on his grave.
“She still is seen leaving columbines on his grave every Nov. 1,” says Forsyth.
Visitors can also meet members of the Straehle family buried in the cemetery, whose historic home in Black Hawk is now a museum.
The Kruse family also has members laid to rest at this site. They are relatives of Ida Kruse McFarland, who was instrumental in getting the Central City Opera House revived in the 1930s.
“Last year, it was just a coincidence that the cemetery tour ended at the beginning of the fall art show,” Forsyth says. “But it worked out really well, so we’re hoping that people can do both events this weekend.”
Tickets for the 22nd annual Cemetery Crawl in Central City are $12 for adults; free for kids 12 and under. Tour shuttles will be at the Thomas House Museum, 209 Eureka St. The tour ends with a trip to Washington Hall, the historic jail site, which is now home to the Gilpin County Arts Association’s Central City Gallery. Cemetery visitors are encouraged to stick around for the opening night of the GCAA’s Fall Members Art Show, an exhibit and sale that begins at 4 p.m. Details and ticket information are available at and or 303-582-5283.
