Through the Lens of Pauper Graves: Understanding Colorado History From Below

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Presenter Information(s)

Chaeli Hobbs, Daniel Torres Diaz

Abstract or Description

      Our project is split into two studies of historical graves. One being the Roselawn Cemetery in Pueblo and the other being the Convict Section of Greenwood cemetery in Canon City. Through the studies of these historical graves, we are able to discover disparities that existed in the history of Colorado. The Roselawn Cemetery is home to many victims of the Pueblo Flood of 1921. The Pueblo Flood of 1921 is one of the deadliest floods recorded in Colorado history. The devastation was so grand that to this day there is no exact number for the lives lost. The range is anywhere from 500-1500 victims. Through our study issues emerge such as housing justice, health care, and immigration statues. The Convict Section of Greenwood cemetery holds nearly 400 people convicted at Colorado State Penitentiary. The graves of these people are simply marked as CSP Inmate ignoring the lives that each of them may have had. Studying this grave highlights disparities regarding race and economic hierarchy. All of these issues ranging from economic, racial or gendered discrimination have a huge history in Colorado that remains uncovered. In each of these graves lies a story that deserves to be told. The people in these graves have been reduced to forgotten names and untold stories. Through the use of historical articles, obituaries, and genealogy sites we are able to connect the names to their stories. We are able to find the victims of the Pueblo flood and paint a geographical picture of the effects the flood had. We are able to connect the stories of convicts and find out more about them when history would rather erase them. The goal of this project is to uncover the historical disparities in Colorado through the lens of pauper graves.

Mentor

James Walsh