In 1858 it was at first Mount Prospect Cemetery, but it became known as Boot Hill and then in 1873 it was renamed City Cemetery. Around the far edges is where criminals, epidemic victims and the poor were buried. Ordinary people were buried somewhere in the middle. The locals began have there loved ones buried else where in the later years due to it becoming an eyesore. Ownership passed from Larimar to Walley but there was not much improvement, and the government wanted something to be done, out of the blue someone in the government found out it legitimately belonged to the United States due to the land being part of an Indian treaty and it was sold to the city of Denver FOR $200.The city soon went to work while Walley had owned it he divided into three sections the city folk, Jews and Catholics when the city took over the Jews had their dead buried elsewhere, the Catholics kept their section well maintained it was only the city part that was very poor. in 1893 the town fathers advised the City Cemetery it was to move all the graves elsewhere and had 90 days to do so.
 
Some were reburied by Concerned family members but more than 5, 000 were forgotten a undertaker named E F McGovern was awarded the contract to carry out the work and they were given tiny 1 foot by 3 foot boxes to put each of the remains, The bodies that had not decayed enough were being broken to fit theses caskets. It was not done with much care or attentions and remains littered the grounds and the workers and onlookers looted the graves.
 
When Mayor Rogers returned to town he was face with all the newspapers covering the story about the cemetery, there was a discrepancy about the amount of caskets being delivered to Riverside Cemetery and the amount of money being paid out, with the help of a health minister he brought the work to a halt. The area was left in such chaos that the city had the area ploughed over including bits of remains and possessions. In 1903 Trees and grass were then planted and work completed for the area to become the Cheesman Park. The Jewish section became Congress Park and in 1950 the Catholic section sold its part of the cemetery with orderly removal and reburial taking place and this became Denver’s Botanical Gardens.

Despite the park now being a peaceful place, It comes as little surprise because of what happened that ghosts are seen wandering around here as if they are lost and confused and that their moans can be heard, also people say that when they are in the area they feel a sense of oppression and sadness. Even people who do not know of the parks history.