One of Park City’s greatest historical resources, the Glenwood Cemetery is located at the end of Silver King Drive and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been in existence since 1885, created by the fraternal organizations in town as they were looking for a place to bury their members who were dying in the mines.
Fraternal organizations provided health insurance and burial benefits for their members as the mine companies refused to offer any kind of benefits to their employees in the early days. The fraternal societies also gave the men opportunities to socialize with other members. Some men were part of multiple fraternal organizations. Men who farmed or who owned businesses on Main Street could also be part of fraternal organizations, as they needed insurance for their families too. Wives of these men were sometimes able to join sister auxiliary organizations, where they could meet and socialize with other women in town.
With all of this in mind, the fraternal organizations approached the Thiriot family around 1885 and purchased three acres from them to form a cemetery. The Thiriot family then donated another two acres, leaving the cemetery at five acres, which it still is today.
The fraternal organizations in town during our mining days included the Knights of Pythias, Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks, Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen of America, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order of the Oddfellows, Loyal Order of the Moose, Ancient Order of United Workers, and others.
As mines consolidated and closed, the membership in the fraternal organizations dwindled, and most dissolved and/or left Park City. The Elks are the only ones that remain active in Park City today.
Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, PCHS Photo Collection
If you walk through the Glenwood Cemetery (please do – it’s open to the public – or join one of our guided tours in the summer), you will see the many different insignias from the various fraternal organizations on the gravestones. Let’s talk a little bit about a few of the people who were part of these organizations and who are buried in the cemetery.
Robert Bennie was an active member of the Masons and is buried in the Masonic plot of the cemetery. He was a miner employed by the Daly West Mine and died of “obstruction of the bowels.” Robert also had rheumatism which caused him to be unable to work for the last few years of his life. Robert lived with his brother James’ family in the years leading up to his death. James and his son William both died young from miner’s consumption and are buried nearby.
Richard Barrett was in multiple fraternal organizations including the Masons, AOUW, and the IOOF. He chose the IOOF plot for burial, where he and his wife Annie both reside today. Annie was in the Orders of the Eastern Star and Daughters of Rebecca organizations, and she was active in their church and community. Richard died of miner’s consumption at the age of fifty-one, and Annie died years later of old age.
Mabel and Fred Tregunna are also buried in the Glenwood. Fred was involved with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Knights of Pythias. Mable became a member of the Lady Maccabees, which was the first auxiliary organization operated exclusively by women. It was a social club, but also offered its members insurance in case something happened to their husbands. Fred and Mabel both died of the Spanish Flu in 1918 and are buried in their plot within the Knights of Pythias section.
The Park City Museum is hosting a lecture on the history and care of Glenwood Cemetery, given by longtime Glenwood benefactor and Museum Board member Barbara Martz on October 23 from 5-6 p.m. at the Museum’s Education and Collections Center located at 2079 Sidewinder Drive.