The Thomas Kleckner grave site is located at the site of the old Master Key Mine (5RT210). Thomas Kleckner died July 31, 1936 in Denver, Colorado. He was admitted to the hospital with minor injuries which later proved to be fatal. Mr. P. R. Alsdorf made the arrangements for his services. According to the obituary "the body was shipped to Steamboat Springs. A. W. Heyer directed the funeral services at the cabin home of Mr. Kleckner near Columbine. The grave is at the place which he selected more than 40 years ago, under the trees in front of his cabin. He named the plot the Orange Grove near the Kleckner Castle, 1000 Broadway, Columbine, Colo."
According to the funeral records Thomas Kleckner was born June 20th, 1851 in Ohio, the son of William and Sarah Kleckner. The funeral was held August 3, 1936 at 6:00 p.m. at the grave. He was buried at "Columbine near the Kleckner home".
In the book Historical Hahns Peak by Thelma V. Stevenson, it gives a good overview of the Master Key Mine and of Thomas Kleckner. He was considered somewhat eccentric and a character. One story talks about him chasing his wife Ella with a butcher knife. Needless to say, she left the next morning on the mail stage, never to return. Towards the end of the chapter we add another mystery to this site. It states "one old timer who knew Kleckner before 1920...vows he was not crazy...Mrs. Kleckner was buried near the Master Key and he would go out to her grave in the evening and talk to her." It is possible that there may be another grave at this location besides Thomas. There is a picture of a small wooden cross that had marked his grave in 1973. During our survey of the site in 1994 this cross was not found. Three other surveys of this site have taken place, 1975, 1980 and 1988. All surveys do not note the location of this or any other grave. In the last survey in 1988, it was noted that there were several unrecorded features. One of these may be a grave site. It was listed as #3 on the survey and was shown directly across from the cabin. It has an east/west orientation and was recorded as 1.0 m by 3.75 m. We have not found any records that would show that this grave was moved.
Land records show that this site was never homesteaded. It appears that Thomas Kleckner only filed for mining claims at this site. According to Stevenson, Kleckner filed his first claim on August 8, 1895, on shafts named Hidden Treasure, Little Joe, Prospector and Ohio Boy. On April 16, 1896 Kleckner filed on the shale claim north of Columbine. From 1895 onward through twenty years, legal records show many mining claim entries in the name of Tom and Ella Kleckner. But the Master Key, Lodes 1 to 6, did not come into existence until Feb. 12, 1919. It's a latter day combination of earlier workings. In 1901 there is a location certificate for a George Kleckner for Mines Edna #1 - #20. We are not sure if there was a family relationship between Thomas and George.
ROUTT COUNTY CEMETERY: RT033
COLORADO HISTORICAL SITE: 5RT962
LOCATION: 500 ft south of Forest Service Road #550
BURIALS: 1 burial with 0 inscribed stones
CONDITION: 5 ft x 10 ft in very poor condition, no enclosure
USGS QUAD MAP: HAHNS PEAK, CO 7.5 1962 UTM 13; 336900 mE; 4525320 mN
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: T11N R85W 6th PM SW 4, SE 4, SE 4, SE 4 SEC 31
© 2004-2008 Roger & Joyce Cusick
National Association for Cemetery Preservation, Inc.nacpinc@hotmail.com
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