A hillside National Register cemetery where Emma Crawford—whose coffin was swept off Red Mountain in 1929—was reinterred, her legend still tied to Manitou Springs.
El Paso Blvd, Manitou Springs, CO 80829
Research updated June 2026
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All Ages
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Free
Open public cemetery; no admission charge.
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Limited Access
Hillside cemetery with uneven ground and older grave markers; steep sections.
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Photos OK
Est. 1890 · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places · Final resting place of Emma Crawford following 1929 coffin mudslide on Red Mountain · Significant record of Manitou Springs' tuberculosis health-seeker community, 1890s
Crystal Valley Cemetery was established in 1890 on a hillside overlooking Manitou Springs, a town that had drawn health-seekers for decades due to its mineral springs. The cemetery's National Register of Historic Places listing reflects its significance as a record of the town's early community, including many who came west hoping the dry mountain air would cure tuberculosis.
Among the most documented of those buried here is Emma Crawford, who arrived in Manitou Springs from Massachusetts around 1889. Crawford, who died of tuberculosis on December 8, 1891, at approximately 27 years of age, had asked to be buried on Red Mountain, a peak visible from town. According to the Manitou Springs Heritage Center, her wishes were carried out and she was interred near the summit.
In 1929, heavy rains destabilized the shallow grave site on Red Mountain. Crawford's coffin—along with her remains—was washed partway down the mountain in a mudslide and discovered in a gulch below. The remains were recovered and reinterred at Crystal Valley Cemetery, where they have remained. The Heritage Center's documentation confirms the 1929 event and the subsequent reinterment at Crystal Valley.
The cemetery continues to serve the community and is the site of Manitou Springs' annual Emma Crawford Festival, held each October, in which participants race coffins through downtown in her honor.
Sources
The legend of Emma Crawford's haunting is unusual for a Colorado cemetery in that it is rooted in a documented historical event—the 1929 mudslide that relocated her remains—rather than vague atmospheric reports. According to coverage in the Boulder Weekly, Crawford's spirit is said to linger in Manitou Springs, drawn back to Red Mountain where she wished to rest. The town's annual coffin race is partly a ritual acknowledgment of this restlessness.
The Boulder Weekly also documents a second notable figure associated with Crystal Valley: Theresa, whose ghost is reportedly encountered by visitors to the cemetery grounds. Specific phenomena attributed to Theresa include an apparition appearing near older grave sections of the property.
While the Emma Crawford story is well-documented historically, the paranormal attributions extend it into something the town has deliberately incorporated into its identity. The annual festival draws thousands of participants each October, keeping the legend active and community-embedded rather than purely fringe.
Notable Entities
Walk among the graves of Manitou Springs founders and early settlers, including the reinterred remains of Emma Crawford, whose short life and dramatic coffin misadventure became a defining piece of Colorado local history.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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