A unique monument at Riverside

Our group of volunteers are making great progress documenting the more than 35,000 monuments at Riverside, but we are still in need of others who want to ‘Doc-A-Block’. Through this program you will learn how to photograph the monuments, document the inscriptions, and analyze the condition of the materials (whether sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, or other), set GPS coordinates, and upload the information to the doc-a-block website.

Each volunteer will be given a section of the cemetery which they can document on their own schedule – at the end of the day we intend to have a comprehensive resource for the history and condition of Denver’s oldest and most historic cemetery.

To register for either of these training sessions please send an email to our Doc-A-Block guru, Kate Barnes, at kate@friendsofriversidecemetery.org.

Through this program, volunteers from the Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery will create a digital archive of the more than 35,000 monuments at Riverside Cemetery. Volunteers are trained in how to photograph the monuments, document the inscriptions, and analyze the condition of the materials (whether sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, or other), set GPS coordinates, and upload the information to the doc-a-block website.

If you are interested in other upcoming volunteer activities, send your information to volunteers@friendsofriversidecemetery.org and we’ll let you know what’s coming up.

Special thanks to Sue Weatherman and Kate Barnes for their great efforts in making this training happen.

Sandstone at Riverside

Through this program, volunteers from the Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery will create a digital archive of the more than 35,000 monuments at Riverside Cemetery. Volunteers are trained in how to photograph the monuments, document the inscriptions, and analyze the condition of the materials (whether sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, or other), set GPS coordinates, and upload the information to the doc-a-block website.

Each volunteer will be given a section of the cemetery which they can document on their own schedule – at the end of the day we intend to have a comprehensive resource for the history and condition of Denver’s oldest and most historic cemetery.

If you can’t attend this training, don’t worry – we have more training sessions coming up later this year. Anyone interested is encouraged to send your info to volunteers@friendsofriversidecemetery.org to be informed of upcoming volunteer opportunities.

Special thanks to Sue Weatherman and Kate Barnes for their great efforts in making this training happen.

The Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery is committed to increasing awareness and encouraging preservation of Denver’s oldest cemetery. We believe that this program is a very valuable preliminary step in the process of revitalizing Riverside. The process of weeding and replanting Riverside’s 77 acres of landscape will require a great deal of time, energy, and expertise, and will take many years.

The cleanup and replanting of Riverside will serve as a complement for the two primary initiatives being undertaken by the Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery:

1. Doc-A-Block: because of their age and fragile condition, many of the monuments at Riverside are in danger of being lost forever. The purpose of the FHRC Assess-A-Block program is twofold: first, to develop comprehensive documentation of all the monuments and features of Riverside, and second, to develop priorities for restoration and preservation.
2. Visioning Riverside 2020: developing a sustainable long-term vision for Riverside will take input from a wide spectrum of the community, including family members, historic preservationists, cemetery planners, open space advocates, landscape architects, politicians, and many others. During the summer of 2009, the FRHC will sponsor a series of planning sessions that will provide a framework for developing a long term plan

With the work that Fairmount is beginning to pursue to restore the environment, plus the two initiatives being undertaken by the FHRC, we are hopeful that this signals a welcome rebirth in interest in commitment to the long-term well-being of Riverside.

For more information on the Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery, please contact us via email at friends@friendsofriversidecemetery.org. Fairmount Heritage Foundation can be reached through their website.

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On Earth Day, April 22nd, beginning at 8:00 a.m., dozens of lawn and landscape experts from throughout the state—headed by the Colorado Association of Lawn Care Professionals (CALCP) – are volunteering their time, materials and equipment to “replant Riverside”.

The groups will gather this spring to begin their work, which will include:

• April 22 (Earth Day) — Planting and “testing” various types of native grasses in various plots in order to find out what kinds of plant life will thrive in Riverside’s soil. The plantings will include ground cover, native perennials and native grasses.
• (May 23rd) An Eagle Scout will coordinate more than 30 volunteers including other Eagle Scouts and Boy Scouts to pull weeds remove dead shrubs and clean-up the entire fence line surrounding riverside Cemetery.
• Boy Scout Adopt-a-Block. Boys Scout Packs, Troops and Crews have adopted blocks at Riverside Cemetery to assist with the revitalization plan. Cutting weeds, mulching trees and shrubs etc.

“Based on the arid conditions, and limited availability of water, we’re focusing on native plants and plants developed for these conditions that will have the chance to survive and thrive on the cemetery grounds,” sa id Richard Roehm of CALCP. “Everyone involved is extremely proud and excited to be part of this important effort; we’re committed to seeing this project through.”

Following the efforts of CALCP, the Fairmount Heritage Foundation will continue with several other community groups to revitalize Riverside Cemetery throughout the summer.

The key participants include:

• Colorado Association of Lawn Care Professionals.
• Front Range Community College’s Ray Daugherty, Professor of Horticulture and Landscape Technologies.
• Colorado State University
• The Colorado Forest Service.
• Denver Botanic Gardens.
• The International Society of Arboriculture.
• Eagle Scouts and Boy Scouts from throughout the metro area.

Donors of materials and seed include Pawnee Buttes Seed, Sharp Brothers Seed, High Country Gardeners, Western Native Seed, Beauty Beyond Belief, John Deere Landscapes, Chem Way, Alpha Once Inc., Helena Chemical Co.

Workers and equipment are being donated by Davey Tree Expert Company, Whit Tree Service, Jim’s Pride Landscaping, Cyn Mar, Fertek, Van Diest Supply, Bestyard.com, Green Mountain Lawn and Tree Care, Lawn Doctor.
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At least two of the trees have fallen over and dislodged monuments in the past three months, and the situation is bound to get worse. These photos shows just two of the “leaning trees”, one in block two and one in block 13; the tree in block 13 is endangering the monument to Colonel James Archer (1824-1882), who helped to bring gas lights and a piped water system to the City of Denver. In her book “From the Grave“, the historian Linda Wommack says that “His monument is one of the most impressive in all the cemetery.”

Of course, it would be very expensive to remove all the dead trees at Riverside, and the owners, Fairmount Cemetery Company, do not currently have the budget to support the cost of this program. The Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery would love to hear from anyone who has ideas on how we can safely remove the dead trees from Riverside. Contact us at friends@friendsofriversidecemetery.org

The Leaning Trees of Riverside

Riverside Cemetery is Denver’s oldest and most historic, and its condition is a cause of concern for many in the community, including historic preservationists, western and art historians, and those with family members buried there. As Denver celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding in November of 1858, we believe it is important to develop a plan for the resting place of so many of the city’s pioneers.

This assessment program is the first step in a long-term initiative; we see it serving as the foundation for the future preservation and restoration of Riverside. Once the comprehensive audit is complete, we will build our set of priorities moving forward. The plan will continue a number of elements, including structures, monuments, trees, roses and horticulture.

A major component of this project is the monument documentation project. Picking up on what a team from the Heritage Foundation started (thank you Sue, Maria, and Jayne!), we are planning to have all the grave markers documented and photographed by the end of 2009.

The program officially kicked off on Saturday, October 25th, (in conjunction with the Fairmount Heritage Foundation) with a program organized by an enterprising Eagle Scout candidate, Michael Funk, who organized over 20 volunteers to inventory block 26. Michael and his volunteers were given two hours of orientation and training before going into the field to begin. Riverside is thankful to have access to the talent, energy and knowledge of Jayne Uhlir and her years of experience training volunteers.

Once the training was complete, the volunteers will broke into teams who documented the text on each stone, measured its dimensions, noted the material and its overall condition. Many of the stones at Riverside are quickly losing detail from natural weathering and pollution, which is one reason why creating a digital record is so important.

We are going to be putting together more training sessions in the future; we’ll also be looking to assemble some volunteers to document and map the viable and the not-so-viable trees, roses, and other horticulture. Please let us know if you would be interested in participating by sending an email to friends@friendsofriversidecemetery.org.

Michael Funk help a teammate find the GPS coordinates of a monument at Riverside.