The Catholic graveyard in Miles City dates to the town’s first years and is located just uphill from the present-day Calvary Cemetery. The present cemetery dates to c. 1910-1920 when a new burial ground closer to irrigation was established. It is an active cemetery.

The irrigation allowed large mature trees to take root and prosper. It’s not very large but is well maintained and the foliage adds to the beauty of the grounds.

The grave marker at the foreground of the above photo belongs to Andrew (d. 1950) and his wife Susanna (d. 1948) Vail. Andrew Vail was a railroad man, who worked at the Milwaukee Road yards in Mobridge, SD, where the line crossed the Missouri River. He and Susanna later moved to Miles City.

Andrew undoubtedly would not recognize the town today, with the once extensive Milwaukee Yards mere shadows of themselves and with the once grand passenger station just hanging on as an industrial building.

The next image documents several gravestones of the Hartman family who moved from the area of Dickinson, North Dakota, to Custer County in the mid-30th century.

Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Hartman died in 1983. She was very active with the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Miles City.

The large obelisk monument to Rudolph “Ralph” Sumer dates to 1912. Ralph was born in what is now Yugoslavia in 1870 but was ranching in the Etna community by the end of the century.

Calvary Cemetery is now over 100 years old and is a valuable yet often forgotten landmark in the county.