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Writer's picturelashellescott

Miners and Mausoleums

Updated: Sep 22, 2021

We are taking you to Silverton Colorado, talking about the town, history and of course the cemetery! Lots of amazing stories of this amazing town and the cemetery is wildly beautiful!





Silverton city Hall


The Air BnB we stayed at then and Now.








some of the men that died in the Ajax Snowslide we talked about in this episode.





Here are the graves I told you about in this episode.








The Cole's Mausoleum







See? Not creepy right?! haha





This lighter box says James Cole. The youngest son of Hannah and Billy.








Some of the obituary for Mary Katherine Cole Mullin the daughter of Billy and Hannah reads:


It was pitiful to see one so young, so good, so loved and admired, depart forever from her devoted husband, little son, loving father, brothers, sisters and friends. It talked about how she had been married at St Patrick church to Steve Mullin in one of the prettiest weddings in the history of Silverton. She had had a little boy Named after her dad Billy Cole Mullin.


Her survivors were her husband Steve, and her 3 year old son Billy. Her father Billy Cole, the pioneer Silverton merchant, and brothers and sisters and many many friends. The funeral, one of the largest ever seen in Silverton was held at St. Patrick church, where Mary and Steve were married just 4 years previously. The flower offerings were beautiful, as the funeral cortege would make its way slowly through town, every business house was closed as a mark of respect to the memory of their Mary Kate. May her grave never be without the flowers of remembrance.

Warm summer sun, shine brightly here

Mild summer wind, blow softly here,

Green sod above, be light, be light,

Good-night, dear heart, good night, goodnight.


Story of the men that tried to get to Billy's bedside before he passed:


about the time that the people of Silverton had gotten word to his friends and family in Durango that he was dying. A Rev. Father Mas. Tom Hunt and Steve Mullin (who was his son in law that had been married to his daughter Mary Katherine who had died in 1911), and they were determined to get to Silverton to see Billy before he passed. And they made heroic efforts to get there. The only thing holding them back was too much snow! The railroad in Silverton was blockaded by deep snow, snowslides and ice. And so they traveled from Durango to Needleton, where the train was there blocked by the snows. From there it was another 15 miles up the canyon to Silverton. And so The men started walking, it was in the early afternoon, but the snow being soft, it made travel was exceedingly difficult. If you've ever walked through snow you can picture it. Father Mas and Steve Mullin were soon exhausted. A group of men from Silverton walked to Elk Park about 5 miles down the canyon from Silverton, to meet and help the three men, taking a toboggan with them, the men found they could not handle both the exhausted men on the toboggan, so word was sent back to town for more help. More than 25 members of the volunteer fire department went down the canyon to help the others. And all returned safely to Silverton late the next day. But sadly after the death of Billy Cole.



The advertisement that I found of Billy's store!



















Meet our Co Host Marcus Wilkins!!


Born in raised in Mesa, AZ. Alumnus of both Westwood High school and Queen Creek High school. A graduate of NAU with a bachelor's degree in hotel & restaurant management. An avid football fan, he loves his Pittsburgh Steelers and Florida Gators. Prides himself on his random knowledge of all things pop culture/entertainment. From shows, to movies, songs, celebrities, athletes, etc. Marcus can probably answer a trivia question about it.



Episode sources:




The Story of Hillside Cemetery : Silverton, San Juan County, County

Volume 1 and 2 By Freda Carley Peterson





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