Resident urges Lafayette to include 200 names and original language on cemetery plaque, cites historical grievances

Frank Archuleta told the Lafayette City Council during public input on March 18 that the city should install a historical plaque at the Lafayette Cemetery that lists approximately 200 community members he says were not recorded in town records and should use language Archuleta called the community’s “true language.”

Archuleta said he and a researcher named Doug have been documenting the cemetery for years and that he had met with local historians and professors who, he said, reviewed and endorsed the language he presented to the historical society. He asserted that town clerk Henry Mathias conducted mapping and record-keeping in past decades and alleged Mathias had ties to the Ku Klux Klan; Archuleta said the 200 names were available in mortuary records but were not entered into town books or cemetery maps.

"Language is very important in telling the true history of the Lost His Cemetery so the citizens can understand why and how 200 community members were not recorded," Archuleta said during public comment. He told council the historical society had agreed to include the 200 names but that his language was omitted from the plaque as it was finalized, and he urged the city to add his proposed language and the names to the plaque.

Archuleta named specific local historians and said he had presented materials to city staff and the historical society. He asked council to close a chapter of local history by installing the plaque with the names and the language he favors. Council received the comment during the public-input portion of the meeting and did not take action on the matter that night.

Archuleta spoke as a member of the public; council did not vote on the cemetery plaque or confirm the historical assertions during the meeting.