Glenwood Cemetery Funerals

Park City Museum will host a lecture titled Glenwood Cemetery Funerals, presented by Barbara Martz on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 5-6 p.m., at the Education and Collections Center at 2079 Sidewinder Drive. More information is available at www.parkcityhistory.org.

Park City’s Fraternal Organization established the Glenwood Cemetery in 1885 to provide a burial place for their members, a benefit of membership. It was a classic Victorian cemetery in a not-so-Victorian town, and many funerals did not follow Victorian tradition. Barbara will introduce you to William Gidley, a colorful man who was the Glenwood’s sexton from 1898 until 1924, the year he died. Have you ever wondered how graves were dug in the middle of a Park City winter 125 years ago?

You will hear about the funerals in general in those days, and the specifics of some very unusual ones. Some funerals were simple. Others were elaborate with brass bands and processions of mourners following the hearse to the Glenwood. Several funerals encountered rather unexpected events which you will learn about in detail. For example, do you know that the Crescent tramway ran along the hillside above the Glenwood? What could possibly go wrong?

Barbara has a degree in History from the University of California Irvine. Her love of Park City’s history began when she and her husband Ken moved to Park City’s Old Town in 1973. She is a member of the Park City Historical Society and Museum Board of Trustees and volunteers as a research historian and tour guide for the Glenwood Cemetery. She is passionate about preserving Glenwood. And, yes, she will also tell you about Patrick Coughlin’s funeral.