Woodlawn Cemetery in Salida, Colorado left me speechless yesterday. The graves located at the bottom of the hill and the surprises going up the hill to the fence lines were so lovely. This cemetery was amazing to see, though a little rough but also beautifully blended into the natural landscape.
This scene that spilled over the hill when we were leaving was simply breathtaking. I was so excited by the beauty that I did not notice the names on the stones in the photos.
The first burials in the cemetery were around 1880 and continue if there are family plots purchased in the past.
The cemetery was established in 1889 near Methodist Mountain, to serve the local community. South of Salida is one of those places that is easily missed if you are not from Salida. I know I’ve missed this road a billion times or less.
The caretakers of the cemetery were members of the Literarios Club according to the Mountain Mail news. First caretaker was Nestor Pacheco, who also donated the land for the cemetery. Other caretakers were Anthony Dominguez, Frank (Frangie) Ordaz, then his granddaughter Tracy Ordaz Mann and her husband.
This is a sacred place to the locals and many of the records are verbal. According to the reports, a fire came through the cemetery in the 1950s and burned many of the wooden markers. There are a number of unmarked graves for this reason.
The caretakers did not want heavy equipment coming in and breaking the old caskets due to the now unmarked graves from the fire. I did see a large wooden marker that had a small burn on one edge.
The article in the Mountain Mail dated May 29th, 2023 had a wealth of information about the other graves and history of the cemetery. We will have a few more stories on some of the other markers we found there. I am so happy that we happened upon this one. Lovely.
Not Forgotten Colorado 
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