Highland Cemetery in New Castle has become a historically designated site, a designation Michelle Huster, assistant to the town clerk, said seemed like a no-brainer.

“It passed in November when it was presented to the Town Council,” Huster said. “They passed it immediately.”

The cemetery was established in 1889. The first person buried there, John Battista Garbolino, was 31 years old when he died on March 3. His marble headstone still stands and remains in good condition. 

“I think the cemetery is wonderful, and I’ve been working on trying to find people who were buried without headstones, to see if there’s any family,” Huster said. “We try to find out what happened to their descendents.”

One of those is Filomena Ross, who was buried with two of her children, after she was murdered by her husband. He was never charged with the crime, as her body had been thrown into the Colorado River and floated down to Rifle, decaying the evidence. 

“He moved to Los Angeles, and we think he took the third child with him,” Huster said. “People ask me why it matters, and I think it does, that we find out what happened to her and this woman’s child, because maybe they had a family too.” 

Some searches have been successful, including one involving a preacher who died in New Castle. His surviving wife later married his brother, a common practice at the time. She moved to Zimbabwe, and her child later returned  to the United States, eventually finding the grave after walking into New Castle Town Hall. 

“She came in and asked if he was buried here, and she got him a headstone,” Huster said. “I think it’s so wonderful that people from all over come to see our cemetery because someone they know or loved was buried here.”

Some graves are still a mystery, like a fenced off grave that has a sage bush growing on top of it. The fence, Huster said, was built after the person was buried. 

“We don’t know who’s in there,” she said. “The bush wasn’t planted over it, it just started growing, and we’ve never found out who’s in there. It’s peculiar.”

Another notable grave belongs to a Woodsman of the World member. The headstone is a tall tree stump carved from what appears to be sandstone, with leaves etched into the stone, lying over the base of the stump. 

“He was killed in a logging accident,” Huster said. 

Highland Cemetery has a lot of beauty, from graves with headstones of petrified, resinous wood, of painted stone and mounds of glass, stacked rocks and hanging wind chimes. 

“It’s nice to see what everyone leaves and decorates their loved ones’ graves with,” Huster said. “There’s so much personality here.”

Huster worked closely with the late Steve Rippy, a former New Castle mayor who had been working on the unknown graves for a long time. 

“He would find out about the people buried here and then write about it on Facebook, telling everyone what he’d found out,” Huster said. “He’d done a lot of historical work and we worked together for a long time.”

When Rippy passed, he bequeathed his knowledge and records on the cemetery to Huster, who was moved by the gift. 

“He knew so much and I want to continue to do the work he was doing,” Huster said. 

Mari Riddile, commission chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, said Rippy was a great serviceman to the community. 

“He was on the Town Council here for a number of years, he was Mayor, worked on Planning and Zoning, and then he did some of the same in Battlement Mesa,” Riddile said. “He did a lot for the history of New Castle as well, especially Highland Cemetery.”

Riddile also credited Mike Miller, a volunteer who has taken over  the care of the cemetery.

“He puts so many hours into this,” she said. “He’s not one to want publicity, but we know how much work he’s done for the cemetery.”

Miller has made concrete headstones for some people buried who never had a marker or were too worn away. 

“He also made the new sign,” Riddile said. “The tall sign was the original one, but the one near the entrance was made by Mike.”

Highland Cemetery will have an official historic dedication on Memorial Day, following a flag-raising at the star in the middle of the cemetery. The star honors all the service members buried there. 
For more information on Highland Cemetery, visit newcastlecolorado.org/cemetery.