Tucked behind an unassuming Chick-Fil-A sits a small, 200x120 feet patch of grass bordered by a wrought iron fence. Behind the gates, the area houses the remains of early settlers as well as the ashes of over hundreds of others spanning over a century.

In the days when this was still pioneer country, the place was known as the Melvin community, gathered around John and Jane Melvin’s ranch, the Twelve Mile House. It was, by the standards of the time, an important stopping point. Westward travelers could eat, sleep, rest their horses and continue their journeys. Some, however, never continued anywhere. They were buried on the property alongside the settlers who had made this remote corner their home.

The ranch was eventually sold to John and Emma Lewis, and in time passed into the hands of the University of Colorado.…