The community known today as Arvada began to be settled as early as 1858, but few deaths occurred by 1862, and those burials were made near homes of the deceased or at South Table Mountain near Golden. After the government survey of l862, a child of Watson Beeman died the following year. This was the first burial in the Arvada Cemetery.
Mr. Beeman and George Swadley chose a spot on the hill at Independence and Grandview Avenue because it was a safe area on school land. In the early days it was known as "The Cemetery"and was deeded in 1863. The Arvada Cemetery was incorporated June 3, 1889 and was not platted until 1889.
"COLORADO SPIRIT QUEST"
The Colorado Spirit Quest is a series of Caches started in 2008. Placed by many individuals, near cemeteries and historic sites in hopes of paying respect to the many pioneer ancestors that have 'walked' before us. There are hundreds of cemeteries in the rural and mountain communities across Colorado. This series will introduce you to many of them. The cache pages will provide a virtual history tour of the cemeteries and tombstones.
The Colorado Spirit Quest endeavor is an enormous and relentless task. It cannot be accomplished by just one or two people. This project will only flourish if there is a multitude of volunteer cachers willing to place these caches.
After locating the cache container, take some time to reflect back on the lives of those pioneers and the effort it took to make Colorado such a great state.
If you are interested in placing a "Colorado Spirit Quest" you should contact Ivy Dog Parents or Joe Friday.
Each person that places a Colorado Spirit Quest cache is responsible for its maintenance.