• TOMBSTONE PROJECT

The Tombstone Project

The Eagle County Historical Society spends lots of time hanging around local cemeteries. That’s how we have come to notice that there are some prominent pioneers whose graves are not properly marked. Sometimes the century-old tombstones have crumbled or faded. Others are marked only with a small, stamped metal marker, intended to serve only temporarily and reflecting the fact that the family likely could not afford the luxury of an engraved stone. 

 As we learn more about these pioneers and their place in history, we became concerned that without proper grave markers, a chunk of local history would literally be lost. In 2024, the ECHS Board voted to set aside $1,000 annually for  the purchase of pioneer tombstones. We work with partners (private citizens and local organizations) such as the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution  and the Eagle River Valley Foundation to properly mark the graves. Local monument companies have been generous in helping us find inexpensive stones. 

BeforeAfter

BeforeAfter

So far, the Tombstone Project has resulted in seven new grave markers: 

  • Andrew Kallquist, a highly educated Swedish immigrant who lived in Gypsum. He served as a water commissioner and acted at times as the community’s unofficial doctor. Prior to the purchase of the new gravestone, Andrew’s grave was marked only with a small, metal mortuary marker which badly misspelled his name. 
  • Doctor Joseph Gideon Gilpin, the beloved mining camp doctor in Red Cliff. His grave in Red Cliff, marked only with a mortuary marker, now has a lovely gravestone. 
  • Five members of the Fulford mining family, buried in Eagle, now have new markers. Their original stamped concrete markers had deteriorated so badly they were no longer readable or had disappeared altogether. The ECHS plans to place new tombstones on five additional Fulford family graves in 2026.

Placement of the new stones also offer an opportunity for the ECHS to share local history in pop-up history events at local cemeteries. 

Have a suggestion for a pioneer who deserves a new tombstone? Email us at ECHS@eaglecountyhistoricalsociety.com. 

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