Unidentified military headstones discovered near Beulah

A curious discovery was recently made under the sign on top of the hill next to Beulah. Two motorcyclists came across a pile of old military tombstones, with no indication as to where they may have originated.

“There were eight military tombstones piled up underneath that thing,” says Vernon Davis of the Society of Black Hills Pioneers.

The stones do not appear to have come from any of the local cemeteries, and most of the names are no longer legible. At this time, it is difficult to say how they made the journey from their original resting site to Beulah.

“But they came from somewhere,” Davis says. “Whether they were stolen or not, I don’t know.”

Theft is not the only potential explanation, and may not even be the most likely.

“Sometimes, when they get old, they take those tombstones and throw them away or give them to people. That might be what was going on here, but we don’t know that yet,” Davis explains.

Sheriff Jeff Hodge confirms that the next steps will involve the assistance of the National Cemetery.

“We have them in our custody and National Cemetery is going to look into it and retrieve them for proper disposal,” he says.

In the meantime, if you have any information as to the origin of the headstones or how they came to be present in Beulah, Davis urges you to report it to the Crook County Sheriff’s Office or contact Davis at 307-643-1442. The Society of the Black Hills offers cash rewards in the case of arrest and conviction of a person who desecrated a cemetery.