When Omaha was a bustling frontier town in its infancy – where thrill seekers, religious zealots, and adventurers of every stripe embarked Westward towards ‘Manifest Destiny’ – Anna Wilson, a madam dubbed “Queen of the Underworld”, was a wealthy businesswoman with a reputed heart of gold.

Rumored to be a lady of culture and Southern refinement, Wilson bequest her vast fortune, including her downtown brothel, to various charitable organizations – often through the guise of affluential friends – according to Barbara Naughtin, president of the Board of Trustees of the Prospect Hill Historic Site Development Foundation.

Like in life, Wilson is laid beside her romantic partner, Daniel Allen, a successful riverboat gambler. Their gravesite is believed to replicate the size of the couple’s bed, Naughtin rumors.

With a worry that they would be separated by the more buttoned-up members of society who disapproved of her profession, it has been said measures were taken to ensure their eternal slumber.

“The granite slab, which covers her grave, sits on red brick, which is visible under the monument,” Naughtin explains. “The slab monument weighs approximately 10,000 pounds, or five and a half tons. The weight of the monument is what protects the graves,” she further added.

Every Memorial Day, high on the lofty hill, hundreds gather to pay their respects to one of Omaha’s most infamous characters at this historic cemetery.

The annual event includes speakers who recount stories of our city’s illustrious past in a true celebratory fashion. The Prospect Hill Preservation Brass and Woodwind Band plays Sousa marches and century-old tunes as a 21-gun salute is sounded. Civil War re-enactors and boy scout troops, civic organizations, and everyday citizens gather as a yellow rose – a gesture to their enduring romance – is placed upon Allen and Wilson’s shared grave.

The memorial observation began in 1912, a year after Wilson’s death, by Mary Porter Kimball, founder and first president of the Crèche, Omaha’s first charitable daycare turned orphanage. Kimball wanted to  recognize Wilson’s contributions, according to historical accounts.

While Wilson’s grave may be one of the more frequented places along the walking tours, hers is not the only one that piques historical interest, Naughtin shares.

Prospect Hill is the final resting place of more than 10,000 departed souls, including some of early Omaha’s most familiar names: Lake, Kountze, Metz, Boyd, Redick, Hanscom, Hummel, and Millard.

“As people go and drive through the cemetery, they see headstones of people who have streets named after them, schools are named after them, Omaha parks and churches. Many of the historical names in Omaha are buried here,” Naughtin said.

The Prospect Hill Foundation has access to a treasure trove of archived information, meticulously researched by local historians, noted authors and various foundation members, offering insight into our city’s past, who we were, and how lives were once lived, she said.

Buried within the hallowed hills is a glimpse into the past: the soldier who served as President Lincoln’s bodyguard, the man who owned the city’s first automobile, the family that moved to town to flee a grasshopper invasion, the preacher who braved brutal blizzards, and the women who died in childbirth along the rugged wagon trails – just to name a few.

The burial records hold stories ranging from tragic to quirk-some. “We are very proud of the fact that Omaha’s founding fathers and mothers are buried here. But the most important thing people need to know is that there is such a place.” Naughtin hopes to shed light on their mission and help guide Omaha’s legacy.

“It’s always important to be educating and learning about the past to know where we should go in the future. To make decisions about where we go, we have to know what our past is,” she said.

Designated as an Historic Site by the Landmarks Commission of Omaha and by the City Council in 1979, even the cemetery itself – bordered by 33rd and Parker streets – has a storied history.

It has faced various lawsuits and land disputes, vandalism, and long periods of uncontrolled growth and downed fences. Cows were even allowed to graze upon the graves.

But that wasn’t necessarily out of disrespect, Naughtin explains that “this was common in pioneer times…it used to be normal. They did no damage to the monuments though.”

Yet it endured.

In 1979, Prospect Hill Historic Site Development Foundation was founded. It is an all-volunteer nonprofit with a mission to preserve and maintain the cemetery, enhance its historic value, and educate about the cemetery’s history to Omahans. It acts as the cemetery’s board of trustees, and its membership fluxes between 12 to 15 members.

“There are no term limits. It’s a full-time job, that you don’t get paid for,” she jests.

This league of volunteers – who do much of the groundwork – are a godsend to them.

Hoping to someday receive a National Historic Landmark designation, the foundation subsists mainly on private donations, but is now a public 501c3, thus eligible for grants and other funding sources, she said.

“We are so limited. We have no full-time employees,” she said, citing the grounds, chapel, and security as their biggest expenses. Mowing costs them $1,000 every couple of weeks during the growing season.

“Technically, the family owns the plots. The foundation owns and maintains the land, but not the plots. Most families have no idea they own the plot,” she said. In fact, less than 5 percent of the families tend to the 10,000-some graves.

“We rely on the kindness of strangers,” she noted of the upkeep. “It is made up by the people who love the cemetery, clean it up, want to come and take care of it.”

To learn more, volunteer or donate, visit their website: www.prospecthill-omaha.org/.