The Hebrew Benevolent Association established the Hebrew Cemetery in January, 1880, in the southwest corner of Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery through the transfer of 101,000 square feet from the Union Veteran’s Association. The death of Gustave “Fred” Jelenko on Fremont Pass in June, 1879 likely prompted the acquisition, and he was reinterred after the cemetery was prepared. As Leadville grew with the prosperity of mining, the Jewish population also grew, but when production declined in the late 1880’s and collapsed after the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893, that population followed the same course. Interments dwindled over the following decades, and the cemetery was neglected during much of the 20th century. Minette Miller (1894-1981), buried alongside her parents Minnie Betsie Miller (1868-1934) and Nathan Harris Miller (1862-1934) and her brother Henry Miller (1890-1909), was the last “old time” Jewish Leadville native buried there. The Temple Israel Foundation, established in 1987, acquired title to the cemetery in June, 1993, ending the long period of neglect. There are 132 graves identified from the pioneer era; about half are children, and about half of those are infants, reflecting the harsh challenges faced by Leadville’s early residents. The burial locations of 13 people have been lost, and only 59 original markers remain. In 1996, B’nai B’rith Denver began sponsoring volunteer weekends to restore the cemetery by clearing decades of overgrowth, building a new fence, erecting an entryway arch, and adding stone monuments. Missing grave markers were replaced by 2004, and with the re-consecration of the cemetery, new burials began in 2001.