general information for Lake County. [August 2005] Jewish history and photos. Jewish Leadville with burial list.
Temple Israel Foundation, 208 West 8th Street, Leadville, CO 80461, Phone: 719-486-3625 [August 2005
Jewish population in 1919 was 79 according to "Directory of Jewish Local Organizations in the United States", pp. 330-583. American Jewish Year Book 5680 September 25,1919 to Sept. 12, 1920; vol. 21, edited by Harry Schneiderman for the American Jewish Committee and submitted by Alan Hirschfeld.]
- Hebrew Cemetery: Leadville Jewish Cemetery is part of Evergreen Cemetery. Founded in 1878, the site has 132 burials. (Old Temple address: 208 W. 8th St. 80461, now a 4-family home.) Temple Israel Foundation (719-486-3625) contact: William Korn, 208 8th St Leadville 80461 at the Temple Israel Foundation. (Home address: 9171 Woodland Rd, Longmont, CO 80503.) He has a list of names of 132 known burials, with a plot map. The list has names, age at death, date died, and Block, Lot, Grave #. The data also states that there was a Temple Kneset Israel, demolished in 1937. Source: e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Source: Alison Greengard of Lakewood, CO; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Minette Miller, who died in 1981 at the age of 87, was the last person to be buried in the old Leadville Jewish Cemetery which, at over 10,000 feet, is believed by some to be the highest Jewish cemetery in the world. Cleaning and grooming of the cemetery and its the 133 graves was planned for 1999 by a volunteer force. Contacts: Ed Koplin (in Denver) (303) 394-9700; Bennett Pollack (B'nai Vail) (970) 845-8399; Jonathan Birnbaum (Synagogue of the Summit) (970) 468-1406; and Jan Faurer (Aspen Jewish Congregation) (970) 923-3323. Those with any information on them or their families are encouraged to contact Ed Koplin at (303) 394-9700. He is gathering personal histories of the Leadville Jewish community.
- UPDATE: "...Hebrew Cemetery came to serve as the resting place for some 130 souls (now 132), including the last "old time" Jewish Leadville native-Minette Miller (born 1894, died 1981). Only 59 original markers remain and the locations of 12 people have been lost. This is the sad result of a long period of neglect which ended only in the late 1980s..." Source with cemetery history and restoration history.[August 2005]
- "As Leadville grew explosively during the late 1870s it quickly realized and satisfied a need for ample interment acreage. The Jewish community first required space with the passing of Gustave "Fred" Jelenko during June of 1879. He was settled into the southwest corner of the newly established Evergreen Cemetery by the following January, 1880, (he may first have been buried in and then moved from Kokomo on nearby Fremont Pass) at which time title to about 101,000 square feet of that southwest corner had been transferred to the Hebrew Benevolent Association to hold the mortal remains of the pioneer Jews of Leadville. Only 59 original markers remain and the locations of 12 people have been lost. This is the sad result of a long period of neglect which ended only in the late 1980s with the creation of the Temple Israel Foundation and its subsequent acquisition of the cemetery through a quiet title action during June, 1993. Since taking control of the cemetery grounds very significant volunteer efforts, led by the Denver chapter of B'nai B'rith, have cleared much of the site from heavy overgrowth, constructed an encircling fence, contributed an entry arch and a monument, and culminated in the reconsecration of the cemetery in August, 1999. The replacement of missing markers was completed in 2004. The cemetery experienced its most recent interment during December, 2001, in an area devoted to renewed demand. Current endeavors include a computer mapping of cemetery (long download) the continuation of annual volunteer cleanups every August." Source has family list and links. Jewish 1930 census [August 2005]
- Evergreen Cemetery: See Hebrew Cemetery