The Drowned and the Dreamers: Who is Really Buried at Grand Junction’s Potter’s Field?

Tucked away near the Department of Energy facility, Potter’s Field Historical Cemetery is the kind of place that makes you stop and think about the people who built Grand Junction and the ones who didn’t quite make it.

It’s small. It’s quiet. And it’s where the city’s early “friendless poor” ended up, people with no family, no money, or simply no one to claim them.

Unlike the manicured memorial parks scattered around town, Potter’s Field is rugged. Overgrown tumbleweeds, uneven ground, and a barbed-wire fence give it a raw, almost forgotten vibe.

But it’s protected, and a big wooden plaque at the southwest corner (thanks to the Telephone Pioneers of America) makes sure visitors know what they’re looking at.

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A Tangled History of Grand Junction, Colorado

Potter’s Field isn’t exactly a simple story. Grand Junction may have had multiple “friendless poor” burial plots over the years. The land was homesteaded in 1883, sold to the city in 1919, but burials go back as early as 1881. Records are spotty, which isn’t surprising given who was buried there.

Some names have survived:

• Baby Garland (1881)
• B.A. Scott (1881) – drowned in the Grand River
• P.H. Gordon (1883)
• Bertha Kaufman (1909–1911)
• Julian Pacheco (1913–1936) – often cited as the last burial

There’s also at least one World War I veteran buried here, though time has rubbed the name off the stone.

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Legacy, Care, and a Little Mystery

Potter’s Fields were never meant for the famous or the rich, so historical records are patchy. But the community has stepped in to care for it. In 1983, Eagle Scout Mark Ludwig led a major cleanup and research effort to identify those buried here.

Of course, a place like this also attracts ghost hunters. Over the years, locals have poked around for paranormal activity, with notable “investigations” in 2007 and 2010.

Visiting Grand Junction's Potter’s Field

You can visit Potter's Field, which is about a quarter mile south of B 3/4 Road and 26 3/8 Road.

If you go, don’t expect a tidy park. This is a place for quiet reflection, a reminder that not every pioneer struck it rich. Some left behind nothing but stories carved into the soil and a handful of markers.

Respect the space, take a moment, and maybe tip your hat to the lives that built Grand Junction from the ground up, literally.