Weisner Cemetery, Longmont, Colorado

Memorials 8 added (25% photographed)

1. Benjamin A. Franklin --No Grave Photo --unknown – 22 Jun 1867
2. Monroe Harp Birth and death dates unknown.
3. W. L. Johnson Mar 1837 – 1 Sep 1871
4. Infant Son McMurray unknown – 1881 No Grave Photo
5. William McMurray unknown – 22 Oct 1881
6. Frederick Richardson Jan 1803 – 11 Feb 1876 No Grave Photo
7. Hubert Weisner unknown – 1864 No Grave Photo
8. Mary Ellen Weisner unknown – Apr 1869

Response from a Volunteer Shutter-bug, Denise Olsen.

"this morning. Benjamin Franklin. Weisner Cemetery, Boulder County Colorado.

I found some info and have been in touch with the Boulder Genealogical Ssociety and it looks like from their last observation in 2000, that there is pretty much nothing left,

they state, "vandals had stripped it, that there was one whole stone (19 years ago) which is pictured on FAG and broken rubble left of a couple others."

My son’s friend’s family owns that land and he’s been on it a ton over the years growing up and said he’s never seen anything resembling markers there. They use it mostly as a dump site for the cement plant that sits on the same land and the local kids (friends of the owners) ride dirt bikes and 4 wheelers on it...egads!!!

I wish I had more for you. I also wish you luck in your searches."

FREE SPACE:

"Armstrong called me a few months ago. Of the stone, he stated, “I’m protecting something that doesn’t belong to me, and I want to return it.” Our conversation initiated the bringing together of a small group of people intent on returning the long-lost stone to its rightful location on Richardson’s grave.

The stone was set in place on a warm day in mid-September, but figuring out where Richardson was buried had become a challenge.

While Armstrong was in possession of the stone, he spent years inquiring in communities in eastern Boulder County, as well as Weld County, but no cemeteries claimed the stone as its own.

Then, more recently, Armstrong contacted a reference librarian at the Denver Public Library. Further research at Boulder’s Carnegie Library led to cemetery records published in 1949 by the late-author and historian Harold M. Dunning.

The site turned out to be the Weisner Cemetery, a half-acre burial ground near Lyons, in northern Boulder County. The plot is located on private property, now owned and preserved by the CEMEX Cement Company. Not surprisingly, the 160-acre parcel that contains the handful of graves had been homesteaded, in 1865, by none other than Frederick Richardson, a farmer.

Richardson’s neighbors included Norman and Mary Ellen Weisner. The year 1864 brought the death of their young son Hubert (or Herbert), and the boy’s burial became the first of the graves on the prairie land.

Prior to Richardson’s death, he had been widowed and lived with a married daughter, Martha Chapman, in Hygiene. Martha and her husband inherited both the Richardson homestead and the Weisner Cemetery, and they remained in the family for several years.

Then came a series of property owners who farmed the surrounding land but left the graves unattended, leaving them open to vandalism and decay.

Dunning, the historian, recorded the cemetery’s burials in 1946 and again in 1965. On his first visit, he noted that Richardson’s stone was one of only five that was legible. When Dunning returned in 1965 he wrote, “Only a very few stones are left and probably one or so in place.”

Most likely, Richardson’s stone had been in Armstrong’s barn longer than he or anyone realized.

Meanwhile, Armstrong worked in a Denver office building and had a colleague named Michael Richardson. Michael was no relation to Frederick, but he was intrigued with the stone and kept it in his office. After Michael passed away, his son continued to display the stone.

The little group that witnessed the stone’s return included Armstrong, three of Richardson’s descendants, and local researchers and genealogists, along with three CEMEX Company representatives. All agreed they were glad their mission was accomplished.

Thanks to Armstrong’s preservation of the stone and his perseverance in getting it returned, as well as the CEMEX Company’s current stewardship of the land, Richardson is (hopefully) again, resting in peace.

Silvia Pettem and Carol Taylor write about history for the Daily Camera. Follow Carol’s Instagram @signsofboulderhistory. Email Carol at boulderhistorylibrarian@gmail.com, Silvia at pettem@earthlink.net or write to the Daily Camera, 2500 55th St., Suite 210, Boulder, 80301.