St. Stephen's Cemetery, Concord

7/6/14

This historical cemetery in Concord has caught my eye several times as I've driven down Monument. It was consecrated in 1899 and opened in 1904. I recently met someone who works here, and told me some tales of people doing terrible things like switching headstones or stealing from the place.  My husband and I decided to stop here and walk around a couple weeks ago.

I loved looking over the names of the people laid here to rest. We walked around slowly and looked at the different sized monuments, noting especially the small ones in the children's section. Some of the little angels were only days old, and some were only a couple of years.

My family lost my cousin earlier this year. His body was laid to rest at a Cemetery in Southern CA, and since then we've visited many other memorials and cemeteries.  I've always enjoyed seeing them, especially historic ones like St. Stephen's, but now it seems more important to me. I want to visit these people, and read their names, and in some cases, learn about who they were.

 

St. Stephen's is a little beat-up looking, with some dry grass and weedy areas through it, but it's a beautiful place nonetheless, and if you've driven down Monument and have seen it but never stopped here, grab some flowers, pull open the big metal gate at the entrance, and stop in for a visit. It's a great place to walk around (though, there's not much shade/grassy areas for sitting/resting).