Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Wheat Ridge

The site of Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery was a 440-acre farm located in rural Jefferson County between Denver and Golden which as purchased in the 1860s by Bishop Joseph Projectus Machebeuf, Denver’s first resident bishop. Bishop Machebeuf later donated the land to the Catholic Diocese of Denver. Mt. Olivet Cemetery now includes 393 acres.

Mt. Olivet Cemetery was consecrated on September 25, 1892, by Bishop Nicholas Chrysostom Matz. On that day, a special Union Pacific train left Denver Union Station carrying 1,500 people to Mt. Olivet for the cemetery consecration. Bishop Matz officiated at the dedication and described Mt. Olivet as the “new City of the Dead.” The primary Denver cemetery until that time had been Prospect Hill Cemetery, southeast of the city. In 1890 the city designated those grounds to be turned into a park. The Catholic section of Prospect Hill Cemetery was then renamed Mount Calvary Cemetery. The first burial at Mt. Olivet Cemetery was Elizabeth Kelley of Annunciation Parish on July 5, 1892.

 In 1891, Bishop Matz announced that Old Calvary Cemetery had been condemned by the city of Denver and proclaimed that Catholics should use Mount Olivet Cemetery for burials.  The Union Pacific Railroad agreed to build a funeral car, special funeral train, and a depot near the cemetery.  The charge for roundtrip was fifty cents.

Colorado’s largest and most deadly influenza outbreak arrived on or about September 20, 1918. It did not take long for it to spread throughout the state. On October 7^th, a statewide advisory was posted to close public places and gatherings. By October 16, people were prohibited from entering Colorado by rail or horseback. People coming from other states were quarantined at least two days at all of the borders. All schools and government offices were closed for weeks and weeks. This pandemic was the largest outbreak in recorded history, spanned from 1918 to 1925. Victims of the outbreak are buried in many locations at Mt. Olivet cemetery including Sections 12, 14, 22, and 26. Read More…