Nearly 70 Jewish immigrants were settled in and near Cotopaxi beginning in 1882. Facing insurmountable challenges, the ill equipped colonists made heroic efforts to farm the rocky land. A synagogue was established, three weddings were recorded, and three colony children were the cemetery’s first burials. Local oral history suggests an adult colonist was possibly buried here. The colonists disbanded in 1884, with many becoming prominent citizens of Denver and the West.