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Bald Mountain Cemetery, Colorado - History   

   Bald Mountain Cemetery is located approximately 1.8 miles WSW of Central City, CO on the outskirts of the ghost town of Nevadaville. This cemetery was originally plotted within the city of Nevadaville; however it was moved to its current location in 1865 due to the growth of the Nevadaville mining town. The earliest notated gravestone lists a year of death of 1855, according to USGenWeb archives. 
   The moving of the cemetery, as will all such occurrences, led to a rise of tales and rumors which persist to this day. Some tales insist that the grave of a witch lies here (or at any of the other Central City area cemeteries) and is the source of much of the paranormal activity which is said to occur. Scientific Paradigm could find no factual historical substantiation for this story.

   Some interesting history did occur in this area, as you would expect of a frontier mining town in the late 1800’s. One of the more striking stories is the story of the murder of Sheriff Richard Williams. In April 1896, due to a gunfight between Sam Covington of Central City and Sheriff Williams, Williams was mortally wounded and passed away four days later. Needless to say, in those times, Sam Covington didn’t last that long and as the gathering mob was shouting, “Hang him!” was killed by Henry Lehman during a high-speed wagon chase. More detail on these events can be found at http://members.tripod.com/central_city/history/ and on page 186 of From the Grave by Linda Wommack. 
   Sheriff Williams’ funeral was held at the Central City Opera House, having the distinction of being the only service ever held in that location. Despite the large venue, hundreds of people lined the streets due to the popularity of the Sheriff. 
   Sheriff Williams was laid to rest in Bald Mountain cemetery having died on April 19, 1896. His wife passed away 53 years later on April 19, 1949. Adding to the coincidence, their son, Oscar Williams, also a Gilpin County Sheriff (from 1922-1946) died on April 19, 1957 and is also laid to rest here.