Namaqua - Loveland, CO - Colorado Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The plaque reads:

NAMAQUA

Home trading post and Fort of Mariano Modena, early trapper, scout and pioneer. First settlement of the Big Thompson Valley. Station on Overland Stage Route to California in 1862.

Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado
from
the Mrs. J.N. Hall Foundation
and by the
Namaqua Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution
1931

There are many issues with the information on the plaque and location of the burial site.

"The Namaqua cemetery was located approximately one half mile south of the original Namaqua settlement and slightly west of the Overland Trail, just south of the corner of 1st Street and Namaqua Road, Loveland.

‘The cemetery was viewed with curiosity mixed with respect by settlers and travelers, who expressed surprise at finding it so well kept in such an uncivilized land.” (Mariano Medina, Colorado Mountain Main by Zethyl Gates).

First created as the Medina family cemetery, friends and acquaintances were also buried in the cemetery outside the sandstone walls surrounding the Medina plot. The earliest grave at this site was of a family friend buried prior to 1864. This was followed by two of Mariano Medina’s children in 1864. The cemetery was surrounded by stone walls that were neatly whitewashed. The entrance was topped with a Blue Cross, a symbol of Medina’s Catholic faith.

There were a total of eight burials at this site. In 1878 Medina was buried outside the walls because there was no room inside the cemetery. A son from his second marriage was buried next to Medina outside the cemetery walls. From 1942 to 1946, Harold Dunning placed headstones on four of the gravesites. In 1960, under court order and under a veil of secrecy, the cemetery walls were removed and five graves were moved to the new Namaqua Park. At this site there are markers for Mariano Medina, his wife, a daughter, a boy, and a friend.

The Loveland Historical Society recently acquired this property for preservation and sensitive restoration of this hallowed site." (from (visit link) )

A second link relates the new, corrected plaque and location (visit link) .

Group or Groups Responsible for Placement: State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J.N. Hall Foundation and by the Namaqua Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution County or City: Loveland Date Dedicated: 1931 Check here for Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/11/2015 LT_Dream visited it