GREAT FALLS — For more than a century, there has been no headstone bearing Goldie Graham’s name at Highland Cemetery.
WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE:
That is about to change after a stranger heard Graham’s story during a local history tour and decided to make sure she would no longer rest in an unmarked grave.
According to The History Museum, Graham was 23 years old in 1911 and working in Great Falls’ red-light district when she was shot by a man she had been seeing.
“Goldie wasn't so lucky,” said Ashleigh McCann with The History Museum. “She was hospitalized for a few days and died later of her injuries.”
More than a century later, Graham’s story became part of The History Museum’s Grim Tales walking tours, which share some of the darker stories from Great Falls’ past.
One person who attended the tour found Graham’s story difficult to forget.
“She said that, you know, she was so touched by Goldie, and her story just didn't leave her,” McCann said. “She kept thinking about her.”
The attendee, who has chosen to remain anonymous, contacted Highland Cemetery after learning Graham was buried there.
That search revealed something else: Graham’s grave had no headstone.
The attendee decided to purchase one.
Finding Graham’s exact resting place, however, required cemetery staff to reach back more than a century into their records.
“We had to go back to our old files,” said Renee Phillips, secretary at Highland Cemetery. “And the people were buried in 1911, and so that takes a lot of work for 115 years ago.”
Phillips said cemetery staff have worked to understand the older filing system and create maps identifying where people were buried in the cemetery’s older section.
What makes Graham’s new marker particularly unusual is that the person paying for it has no known family or personal connection to her.
“This marker isn't from a relative,” Phillips said. “This isn't from someone that has a personal interest, except that they caught wind of the story and knew that this gal had no marker for 115 years. And they just, out of the goodness of their heart, wanted to honor her.”
The headstone is expected to be installed by next spring.
For McCann, the anonymous gift shows how telling stories from Great Falls’ past can still have an impact generations later.
“It was just the most amazing testament to why you should get engaged with history and why you should learn about your community,” McCann said. “It's like you never know what's going to come out of a story.”
One person heard Goldie Graham’s story more than a century after her death. Soon, after 115 years, her gravesite will finally bear her name.
