How Did Historic Fairview Cemetery Get Established?

Back in November of 1881, a letter was written by Elias Stover and printed in the Albuquerque Morning Journal, informing the Board of Trade Association that individuals were burying their friends along the side of a sand hill which was never intended to be a cemetery.  Historic Fairview Cemetery was founded as Albuquerque’s first all-inclusive cemetery at  time when a well designed cemetery was a sign of a real city.  Unlike many earlier cemeteries, Historic Fairview was located on the east mesa where there was no chance of spring flooding.  The earliest known burial was a young boy from Corrales in 1881, five years years before the cemetery was officially founded.  It was an ideal place for a cemetery because of the soft soil and the closeness to “New Town.”   Albuquerque was a city of many neighborhoods and communities.  Some were served by local churches, but there was no non-denominational integrated cemetery until Historic Fairview.  There are various sections throughout the cemetery for various fraternal organizations, the military, family plots, as well as a section for babies and stillborn and for certain ethnic groups that wanted to be buried together.  Now Historic Fairview Cemetery is owned and managed by a non-profit, all volunteer organization.

Learn more about Historic Fairview Cemetery in this New Mexico magazine article:  A Visit to the Oldest Public Cemetery in Albuquerque, by clicking here.

For fascinating stories about the “permanent residents” of the cemetery, please visit Historian Susan Schwartz’s blog.