The first recorded burials in Telluride’s Lone Tree Cemetery were in the mid-late 1800’s, during Telluride’s mining boom era, when avalanches, flu epidemics, mining accidents and labor strikes took many lives. Families would usually bury their loved ones by themselves, and care for their graves. In 1956, a female civic group named the Commonweal Girls circulated a petition to the voters, and the Lone Tree Cemetery District was formed.  The measure passed, and the first Cemetery Board was appointed by the County Commissioners. A mill levy of 1.0 was imposed for the cemetery’s upkeep.

The 1996 Lone Tree Cemetery Survey, photo documented by Telluride’s Historic Preservation Planner, Kaye Simonson, and prepared for the Town of Telluride and Western Slope Historic Services, stated that at that time, “The Cemetery Board estimated that there are more than 2,000 burials in the Lone Tree Cemetery, many without headstones or markers.” Today, as the community has grown, so has the number of souls whose final resting place lies in the Lone Tree Cemetery.

In its early days, the Lone Tree Cemetery appeared to be a Christian Cemetery, with no Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, or other major world religions in evidence. Today, the Cemetery is a National Historic Landmark, an ecumenical, secular resting place for Telluride area residents of all faiths. The Lone Tree Cemetery is Telluride’s most invaluable historic asset. A visit to these hallowed grounds will give one an idea of Telluride’s past mining history, and how the community has thrived and morphed into one of the most spectacular resort towns in America.