Colorado Spirit Quest #425

Manhattan Cemetery once served a mining town bearing the same name until the town was destroyed. Manhattan was formed as a gold mining camp in September 1886 after a "rich strike" was discovered between Sevenmile and Elkhorn creeks, where Manhattan was located. When the town was first formed, everybody lived in tents but a school had already been opened. By the end of October, the population was about 100, and 125 claims had been made.

However, little gold was found and the gold that was found was extremely expensive and difficult to get to, resulting in the population dropping down to about 50. This would quickly change though as a discovery was made in 1890 and the population grew to 300 by 1899. Tragically, in 1892, two miners died in a mine explosion in November of 1892.

This peak for the town would unfortunately not last long though, as the town's post office would close in 1900 and the school would close in 1904. Soon after, the town would be owned by the USFS and would be used as a Civilian Conservation Corps (A voluntary government work relief program between 1933 and 1942) site. Some buildings would be moved away from the town later in the 1930s and the rest would be burned by the USFS. Today, only the cemetery remains and is maintained by a small group of local volunteers.

The oldest graves at the Manhattan Cemetery are that of Lawrence J Mahar and George Grill, both of whom died in the aforementioned mine explosion on November 12, 1892. It is unknown how old either of them were. Both of their graves are only marked by white crosses and their names are not on them.

The newest grave at the Manhattan Cemetery is that of Linnie Bess “Polly” Powell Brinkhoff who died in a car crash on March 31, 1999. She was 83 when she died. 11 people are known to be buried here.

You are looking for a fairly large ammo can after a short uphill hike. Keep in mind that there are no restrooms nearby and also no cell service. Manhattan Rd is open year-round but is not maintained during the winter. Please be respectful if you decide to check out the cemetery. This cache is also a bit of a redux of "Colorado Spirit Quest #194 - Manhattan Cemetery" (GC1TBXN) which got archived in 2021 after a wildfire. However, it is in a slightly different location and also a much larger container. There is some interesting info on its cache page if you would like to learn even more about Manhattan.

"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.

Additional Waypoints

01ARQ1W - Manhattan Cemetery
N 40° 44.061 W 105° 35.504
The location of the cemetery itself.
02ARQ1W - Parking
N 40° 44.028 W 105° 35.436
This is a small pullout that we usually park at when we come here. Keep in mind you will have to walk over a cattle guard to get to the cemetery if you choose to park here.