Private Curtis Family Cemetery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BsgREZcNjo

What happens when you post a video about an historical PRIVATE property family cemetery?

This is about the Curtis Family Cemetery. I hope you were able to catch the beauty of the area,

because the cemetery has been totally vandalized, just about every stone was demonlished.

Two Civil War veterans stones were not touched. The wanton destruction was done within a year
of the walkway's completion. The City of Topeka sees no reason to protect a family cemetery that is

inside the city limits; though reports were filed with the local Police; no one has been charged for it.

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Sorry; but the walk trail has been completed; leaving no legal access for the private property from a public road; this is clearly against private property laws; as well as no protection has been provided by the City of Topeka for the historic cemetery; the trash has not only tripled but is beyond belief as well as the trespassing and vandalism, as predicted by me and IGNORED by the City of Topeka.

As of June, 2007, the walkway has been completed, the walkway was moved 18 feet West of the Curtis Family Cemetery; but the trash has tripled, so has trespassing, harassment of me while working at the cemetery, now I have death threats against me as well. So the City of Topeka has no respect for cemeteries, when will they do something? After I am dead??

As of May, 2007; my own opinion, is that the City of Topeka should NOT be putting the walkway/bike path anywhere near the Curtis Family Cemetery of 1549 NW Harrison, North Topeka, Kansas. To me, this shows contempt by the City of Topeka for the cemetery, a disregard for the cemetery as well as certainly no respect for the cemetery. Is the City of Topeka planning on being responsible for future vandalism or any damages, or clean-up of the Curtis Family Cemetery because of the the people using of the planned walkway/bike path; because of the increase of people in the area of the Curtis Family Cemetery?
If not, the City of Topeka, in a gesture of good faith showing a real care and concern for the Curtis Family Cemetery erect a 6 foot fence between the walkway/bike path and the property of the Curtis Family Cemetery.
The City of Topeka has stopped all construction for the moment of the planned walkway/bike path, until new paperwork has been processed to move the trail to the west and OFF of the Curtis Family Cemetery, though the walkway/bike path will still be on the South and West sides of the Curtis Family Cemetery if allowed to continue as planned.

     If you are a Curtis family member, Please help by letting these people (listed below) know your opinion about the cemetery, by calling them, emailing them, or perhaps BEST of all, write each of them a letter.
(they already have had mine in person many times but would not listen; YOU are family, perhaps they
will listen to YOU).

Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr.      785-368-3725        mailto:nbonaparte@topeka.org City Manager
    Topeka City Manager
     215 SE 7th
    Topeka, Ks 66603

Terry Bertels                         785-368-3838        mailto:tbertels@topeka.org      Head of Topeka Parks
Topeka Rec & Parks
    620 SE Madison 1st Flr
    Topeka Ks 66607

John Alcala                            785-233-7110        mailto:jalcala@topeka.org         Representative for North Topeka
   Topeka City Council
    215 SE 7th
    Topeka, Ks 66603

Jeff Hunt                                785-368-3842      mailto:jhunt@topeka.org             Assistant City Engineer
    City of Topeka Eng. Div.
    620 SW Madison 2nd Flr
    Topeka, Ks 66607

The City apologizes after work crews have been clearing ground for a planned walking and biking
trail through Topeka that cuts right through cemetery grounds.
“They've cleared the grass and moved turf on the top,” says Joe Singer, City of Topeka Chief Surveyor.
“They haven't done any excavation yet.”
Ann Andrews, the Curtis Family Cemetery caretaker, says it’s good thing the city hasn’t started digging,
because there could be unmarked graves there.
The cemetery dates back to the 1860's and used to be owned by Charles Curtis, the nation's only
American Indian Vice-President.
The city says it was an honest mistake, and stopped work in the area after recognizing the property
boundaries were off.
“They still wouldn't listen to me,” says Andrews. “I come out here and they still wouldn't stop.
They said, ‘we'll have our survey team come out.’ I said OK. It was only then they acknowledged they
did something wrong.”
Singer says the city realized the property line actually ends 19 feet further west of where the original plan
showed. “North Topeka is not a good place to survey. There are many records and conflicting property lines.”
Singer says the land looked the same as city land and wasn't fenced in like the marked graves on the
cemetery. It's still up in the air who actually owns the property.
Andrews worries about the disrespect and potential vandalism that could arise from having a trail that close
to a cemetery.
The city says consultants will re-design soldier trail and probably re-align it to the north to smooth over the
muddy situation.
The city says Soldier Trail, which will stretch from Garfield Park to Lyman Road, should be completed by
this summer.

Story Created: Jan 2, 2007 at 8:17 PM EST
http://www.ksnt.com/news/local/5066706.html
http://www.ksnt.com/

Published Saturday, December 30, 2006
Work on trail did overlap cemetery, city says; Relatives of Charles Curtis buried at site
By Steve Fry
The Capital-Journal

A Topeka city spokesman acknowledged Friday that the caretaker for a historic cemetery was right
earlier this week when she said a city hiking, jogging and cycling trail had lapsed onto cemetery land.
Spokesman David Bevens said the Soldier Trail cut the northwest corner of the Curtis Family Cemetery
in North Topeka. The cemetery, which was owned by Charles Curtis, the only American Indian ever
elected vice president, is on the west side of the 1400 block of N.W. Topeka Boulevard on the south
side of Soldier Creek.
The city earlier said records showed Soldier Trail wasn't on the cemetery property.
Ann Andrews, caretaker for the Curtis Family Cemetery since 1994, said Friday she was "disappointed"
in the city because she has told city officials where the cemetery boundaries were and where the dead were
buried.

Herrman's Excavating Inc. is handling work on a trail near Soldier Creek in North Topeka that the city
recently learned has infringed upon the Curtis Family Cemetery. The city earlier this week had said records
showed Soldier Trail wasn't on the cemetery property.

Andrews said earlier this week that workers on Wednesday drove their equipment onto an unfenced
portion of the cemetery that contained unmarked graves and damaged a fence that enclosed a portion of
the cemetery containing marked graves. Andrews said there are 15 marked graves and 20 to 50 unmarked
graves at the cemetery.
Assistant city engineer Jeff Hunt said, "Preliminary results indicate we are on the cemetery property with the
proposed trail."
Andrews said Hunt asked her on Friday to talk to Curtis' descendants to see whether they would agree to
give the city an easement for the trail where the construction is on the corner of the cemetery.
Andrews said she will call the 15 descendants and hopes to hear answers from them by this weekend.
"I don't think the family will agree to leave the trail where it's at," Andrews said.
"Whether we are on top of unmarked graves, we don't have a clue," Bevens said.
Equipment used in the construction of the trail crossed onto cemetery property because a consultant to the
city "mismarked" the west property line of the cemetery, Bevens said.
The west line of the cemetery is 15 feet to the west of where the consultant first said it was, Bevens said.
Construction equipment building the trail cut a triangle-shaped portion of the cemetery measuring 40 feet long
and 10 feet deep at its widest into the cemetery, Bevens said.
"All we've done is scrape the dirt (8 to 10 inches deep)," Bevens said. "We haven't poured cement, we haven't
dug down."
Construction of that portion of Soldier Trail has been stopped until the city gets an easement to build that part
of the trail, Bevens said. To the west of the trail and cemetery is a storage lot.
"We're certainly apologetic that it happened," Bevens said.
The error was discovered Thursday when the consultant checked the property line and determined that the city
was too far east by 15 feet, Bevens said.
Joe Singer, the city's chief surveyor, will check the cemetery's west boundary when he returns to work Tuesday,
Bevens said.
The mistake occurred because property line pins were removed from the area when the old Soldier Creek
was rechanneled after the 1951 flood, Bevens said.
The walking, jogging and cycling trail, which will be 10 feet wide, will extend from Garfield Park on N. Kansas
Avenue to the Kuehne-Thomas Branch of the YMCA, 1936 N.W. Tyler.
The cemetery, which Andrews said was originally known as Curtis Memorial Gardens, is the resting spot of
relatives of Curtis, the Topeka native and U.S. Senator who was vice president during the Herbert Hoover
administration from 1929 to 1933.
Curtis' grandfather founded the cemetery in the 1860s, and among those buried there are Oren Arms Curtis
and Ellen Pappan, also known as Helen Papen, the parents of the vice president.
The floods of 1903 and 1951 damaged the small cemetery, according to newspaper reports.
Charles Curtis is buried in Topeka Cemetery at S.E. 10th and California.

Steve Fry can be reached at (785) 295-1206 or steve.fry@cjonline.com

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/123006/loc_133574255.shtml
http://www.cjonline.com/

Published Thursday, December 28, 2006
Work on trail disturbs unmarked graves, caretaker says
By Fredrick J. Johnson
The Capital-Journal

A cemetery caretaker said Wednesday that work on a section of the Soldier Trail in north Topeka had
encroached upon unmarked graves at the Curtis Family Cemetery. The city is constructing the walking, jogging and cycling trail between Garfield Park on North Kansas
Avenue and the Kuehne-Thomas Branch of the YMCA at 1936 N.W. Tyler.
Ann Andrews, caretaker for the Curtis Family Cemetery since 1994, said workers on Wednesday drove
their equipment onto an unfenced portion of the cemetery that contained unmarked graves and damaged a
fence that enclosed a portion of the cemetery containing marked graves.
She said a truck and other equipment had driven over unmarked graves. Andrews said there are 20 to 50
graves at the cemetery and only about 12 of them are marked.
The cemetery is the resting spot of relatives of Charles Curtis, an American Indian, Topeka native and U.S.
Senator who was vice president during the Herbert Hoover administration. He is the only American Indian
ever elected vice president. Curtis himself is buried in Topeka Cemetery at S.E. 10th and California.
City spokesman Dave Bevens said Wednesday afternoon that the city engineer had been unaware there were
unmarked graves in the area.
Bevens confirmed that the construction crew had removed a section of the fence enclosing the marked graves
while taking out another fence and that equipment had crossed over some ground where unmarked graves are
located.
The damage will be repaired, he said, and care will be taken to avoid gravesites.
The city's records show the trail itself isn't on the cemetery property, Bevens said.
Dave Herrman, of Herrman's Excavating Inc., said he didn't think the construction crew had been aware of any
unmarked graves before the work started. Herrman's Excavating is the subcontractor for the work being done
near the cemetery on the south bank of Soldier Creek, just north of where N.W. Harrison ends.
Herrman said crews would be sensitive to Andrews' concerns as the project progressed.

Fred Johnson can be reached at (785) 295-1181 or fred.johnson@cjonline.com

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/122806/loc_gravesdisturbed.shtml
http://www.cjonline.com/