Correspondence and Lists from the Dry Creek Valley Ditch Company and the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company

Name/Title

Correspondence and Lists from the Dry Creek Valley Ditch Company and the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company

Entry/Object ID

1987.12.7

Scope and Content

2 stapled packets of photocopied correspondence and work documents relating to Henry G. Mitze, the Dry Creek Valley Ditch Company, and the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company in 1953. The company appears to have worked with the Lakeview Cemetery Association, as Mitze likely did, however the documents cover lists of those who paid a Church Ditch charge for the Broomfield High Line and the Dry Creek Valley Ditch, for irrigation. The photocopies were made circa 1987, most likely by Broomfield Depot Museum staff.

Collection

Permanent Collection

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Correspondence

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Other Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Cemeteries, Canals, Irrigation, Irrigation canals & flumes, Correspondence, Records (Information), Digging, Companies

Search Terms

Lakeview Cemetery

Archive Details

Creator

J.K. Smith, The Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Co.

Date(s) of Creation

1953 - 1987

Archive Size/Extent

1 legal size file folder

Archive Notes

Date(s) Created: 1953-[1987] Date(s): 1953-1987 circa Finding Aids: See accession record 1987.12 for attached Lakeview Cemetery Collection finding aid.

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

1987.12.1, 1987.12.2, 1987.12.3, 1987.12.4, 1987.12.5, 1987.12.6, 1987.12.8

Provenance

Notes

Admin or Biographical History: Started during Broomfield's formative years as a farming community, the Lakeview Cemetery located at 200 Eagle Way represents many aspects of Broomfield's history. The Lakeview Cemetery Association, which oversaw many of the cemetery's operations, was first established in 1890. Wealthy farm owner Adolph Zang sold the cemetery's land to the association for $50, having originally purchased it from the Union Pacific Railroad around 1885. Zang also served on the association well into the twentieth century, along with other prominent Broomfield residents, including William Brown and the Mitze and Crawford families. All of them served on the association as volunteers within the community. Although the association formally handled the operation and maintenance of the cemetery, the first recorded burial there occurred in 1888, before the land was formally acquired; the last burial under the association's oversight occurred in 1954. Throughout its operation, several homesteading families used the cemetery for their burials, including the Mitze, Crawford, Brown, Wright, and Colman families. After 1954, the Lakeview Cemetery Association disbanded as many original members had begun to pass away. As a result, the cemetery had no consistent maintenance and upkeep, which prompted concern from Broomfield residents and city officials. The Broomfield city council proclaimed in 1972 that the cemetery had become "an unwanted eyesore" to the city, as only twenty to thirty graves of an estimated 114 were clearly marked. Starting in 1973, the cemetery came under the auspices of the City of Broomfield, and was maintained as a historic memorial park to the city's original homesteaders. The cemetery ultimately reopened as a burial ground for ashes in 1992. Source: Pettem, Silvia. Broomfield: Changes Through Time. Longmont, Colorado: The Book Lode, 2001. Custodial History: Materials in the Lakeview Cemetery Collection were gathered and accessioned from the City of Broomfield by the Broomfield Depot Museum in 1987. Many of the papers and record books had originally been passed down by family of original Lakeview Cemetery Association members before coming into the City's care.