BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Almost 90 years after his death, Breckenridge’s first marshal has finally received his headstone in the Valley Brook Cemetery.
Samuel Blair, an Ohio native and Civil War veteran, became the town’s first marshal in 1881 and served in different official capacities throughout the town until his eventual move to California in the late 1920s. He died in 1932 at age 89.
For decades, the Blair family’s plot at Valley Brook Cemetery has contained just a single headstone, showing the names of Maggie and Jammie Blair, Sam’s wife and son.
But a recent discovery by local historian and author Bill Fountain revealed that while there was no headstone, Blair had been buried in the plot ever since his death. Fountain uncovered the strange circumstance a couple of years ago while researching for his 2019 book, “Chasing the Bad Guys,” a deep dive into law enforcement in Breckenridge from 1881 through 1925.
“I couldn’t find where he was buried,” Fountain said. “I just assumed in Pasadena where he died. … I went to Town Hall and asked them to pull the cemetery records for all the marshals that were buried there. Maggie’s card showed the plot, with herself and their son. It also had a note that Sam Blair’s ashes had been returned from California, and he was buried with his family.
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