This project was made possible thanks to the support of the Marquardt Foundation in Julesburg, CO.
Originally established as Hillside Cemetery in 1886, this historic burial ground became part of the Julesburg Cemetery District in 1950. Located in Julesburg, Colorado, it serves as the eternal sanctuary for early settlers, pioneers, and notable figures from the region's past. Though the bustle of modern life carries on beyond its gates, the cemetery remains a sanctuary of stillness, where the past feels palpably close.
Visitors who tread its winding paths are met with a quiet reverence, as if the very ground beneath their feet holds whispered conversations from another era. It is more than a burial ground—it is a living archive, a place where history breathes, and where the community’s roots are tenderly preserved for those who pause to remember.The cemetery features a mix of traditional gravestones and monuments, reflecting the town's rich history.
We offer burial options at the Cemetery for both traditional Single and Family plots, as well as Cremation plots.
The cost of a Сemetery plot is $350
Hillside Cemetery, located half a mile southeast of Julesburg, was established in 1888, seven years after the town's founding, though some gravestones date back to 1886. In September 1887, Mayor D.S. Redford appointed a committee to draft a Grave Yard Petition and explore land purchases. By February 1888, two landowners, Mr. Kitchen and Mr. Wilson, offered 40 and 20 acres, respectively, with Kitchen ultimately selling his land for $300 after negotiations. Despite opposition from J.A. Hunter, the town purchased the land on February 28, 1888. In April 1888, surveyor C.W. Walker was hired to plot 20 acres into 16x20-foot lots, each holding four graves, with designated avenues and alleys.
The name "Hillside Cemetery" was officially approved on April 11, and stonework by Uberto Gibello was recorded shortly after. On October 3, 1950, ownership transferred to the Julesburg Cemetery District, ensuring its preservation as a cherished landmark where history and memory endure.
Hillside Cemetery cradles the stories of Julesburg’s early European immigrants and American pioneers, their lives now etched into the very soil they once toiled upon.
Here, beneath the endless sweep of Colorado skies, weathered gravestones stand like silent sentinels, bearing names that whisper of distant homelands — English millworkers, Canadian fur traders, Scandinavian farmers — alongside hardy homesteaders and sun-weathered cattle ranchers. Each marker, worn by time and the elements, speaks of a shared journey: the grit of those who carved a home from the wild plains, the sweat of those who turned prairie grass into prosperity.
Some stones bear inscriptions in forgotten tongues, fading echoes of the Old World, while others proudly declare service in Civil War regiments or frontier militias — testaments to loyalty in a land still being forged. These were dreamers and doers, adventurers and exiles, all bound by a common determination to plant roots where the wind ruled unchallenged.
Now, their descendants walk among the leaning monuments, where the prairie breeze hums through dry grasses like a low, mournful hymn. The cemetery is more than a collection of graves — it is a tapestry of endurance, woven with the threads of sacrifice, hope, and stubborn perseverance.
In this quiet expanse, where the horizon stretches forever and the sun sets in golden silence, the legacy of Julesburg’s founders endures — not just in the town they built, but in the unbroken spirit of the high plains they called home.
Today, the cemetery serves as a quiet, peaceful resting place for many of Julesburg’s citizens, its weathered gravestones and neat pathways reflecting the rich tapestry of the town’s history.
