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Bellefontaine Cemetery

May 01, 2023

Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Sullivan-designed Wainwright Tomb, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bellefontaine Cemetery
The Wainwright Tomb at Bellefontaine Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Location of Bellefontaine Cemetery in Missouri
Details
Established1849
Location
4947 West Florissant Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
CountryUnited States
Coordinates38°41′51″N 90°14′01″W / 38.69737°N 90.23363°W / 38.69737; -90.23363Coordinates: 38°41′51″N 90°14′01″W / 38.69737°N 90.23363°W / 38.69737; -90.23363
TypePublic
Size314 acres (127 ha)
No. of graves87,000
Websitebellefontainecemetery.org
Find a GraveBellefontaine Cemetery

The cemetery contains 314 acres (1.27 km2) of land and over 87,000 graves, including those of William Clark, Adolphus Busch, Thomas Hart Benton, Rush Limbaugh, and William S. Burroughs. Many Union and Confederate soldiers from the American Civil War are buried at Bellefontaine, as well as numerous local and state politicians.

History

On March 7, 1849, banker William McPherson and lawyer John Fletcher Darby assembled a group of some of St. Louis's most prominent citizens to found the Rural Cemetery Association of St. Louis. This association sought to respond to the needs of a rapidly growing St. Louis by establishing a new cemetery several miles outside city limits. St. Louis was experiencing exponential population growth during this time and city leaders thought that the existing graveyards, which were mostly concentrated along Jefferson Avenue near the city center, were an impediment to urban development. Many were also convinced that city cemeteries represented a public health hazard (see miasma theory). These problems were compounded during the summer of 1849, when a massive cholera epidemic swept through St. Louis and claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people. With existing cemeteries running out of space to expand, and with many residents fearing that fumes from nearby cemeteries could cause them to fall ill en masse once again, this epidemic further underscored the need for a new rural cemetery for St. Louis.[1]

In 1849, the Rural Cemetery Association purchased the former Hempstead family farm located five miles northwest of the city, with the intent to turn it into a large rural cemetery modeled after Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts. The association that originated the cemetery, named it at first the "Rural Cemetery".[2] The 138-acre Hempstead farm was situated along the road to Fort Bellefontaine, and as a result the Association decided to name its new cemetery after the fort.

Within a few months, the Association had hired landscape architect Almerin Hotchkiss, who helped design Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, to begin drafting and implementing a master plan for Bellefontaine. Hotchkiss went on to serve as superintendent of the cemetery for the next 46 years; he designed most of Bellefontaine's roadways and landscaping, and oversaw maintenance of the grounds. During this time, the cemetery steadily acquired more land so as to provide room for future growth. By 1865, it had reached its present-day size of 314 acres.[3]

The first burial at Bellefontaine Cemetery took place on April 27, 1850, and the official dedication followed several weeks later. Bodies from older graveyards within the city of St. Louis were moved to Bellefontaine, including some from the cemetery by the Old Cathedral near the Mississippi River. Bellefontaine was also the resting place for several victims of the 1855 Gasconade Bridge train disaster, the worst railroad disaster in Missouri history. Also interred at Bellefontaine are members of several notable brewing families, including the Anheusers, Buschs, Lemps, and Griesediecks.

In 1909, the renowned St. Louis architectural firm Eames and Young was commissioned to design a new chapel for the cemetery. The Hotchkiss Chapel, named for the cemetery's first architect, was completely renovated in 2009, and an indoor columbarium was added on to the back. The chapel is currently used for weddings and memorial services. Two new outdoor columbaria have also opened for inurnments; and a "green burial" natural interment section is pending. Cemetery patrons with traditional tastes for family lot group burials and private mausoleums can still obtain these memorialization options at this historic cemetery, which has the largest collection of private (family) mausoleums and sarcophagi in the State of Missouri, in a wide array of architecturally-acclaimed historical styles. Space for traditional casketed/vaulted ground burial exists within Bellefontaine's dedicated grounds for the next 200 years at present rates of usage.

Cemetery today

As of 2012 over 87,000 people have been buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery, and approximately 100 new burials take place each year. Bellefontaine remains a non-profit, non-denominational cemetery, and still holds over 100 acres of open, unused land. Some of this extra land has recently been converted into prairie and woodland. Bellefontaine contains over 14 miles of paved roads and, as an accredited arboretum, is home to over 180 species of trees and shrubs. A new lakeside garden and columbarium were completed in 2010, and other major landscaping projects are planned or in progress.

The cemetery contains the graves of many prominent pioneers to the West, as well as businessmen, politicians, and generals who remain significant figures in the history of St. Louis and the United States. The oldest graves in the cemetery are located on pioneer Edward Hempstead’s family lot and date as far back as 1816. Many of the wealthiest families at Bellefontaine are interred in ornate mausoleums which overlook the Mississippi River and draw from Classical, Romanesque, Gothic, and Egyptian architectural styles. Among the most notable mausoleums in the cemetery are: the Wainwright Tomb, designed for Charlotte Dickson Wainwright by the famed Chicago school architect Louis Sullivan in 1892; the Busch Mausoleum, designed for Adolphus Busch and Lilly Anheuser by Barnett, Haynes & Barnett in 1915; and the Brown Brothers Mausoleums, designed in 1910 by Isaac Taylor and in 1928 by Mauran, Russell and Crowell. There are also a number of large family plots in the cemetery, many of which are marked by tall obelisk monuments with elaborate bases. Guided tours of the cemetery’s main historical and architectural highlights are available and are open to the public. Alternatively, visitors can obtain self-guided tour brochures at the cemetery office.[4]

The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[5]

Notable burials

 
The Busch Mausoleum, designed by Barnett, Haynes & Barnett.
 
Paramore Mausoleum
Further information: Category:Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery

A–K

L–Z

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bellefontaine Cemetery Website", accessed 12 Jun 2013
  2. ^ Billon, Frederic Louis (1888). Annals of St. Louis in Its Territorial Days, from 1804 to 1821. p. 390. ISBN 978-0598280671.
  3. ^ "Biography of Almerin Hotchkiss, The Cultural Landscape Foundation", accessed 18 June 2013
  4. ^ "Architecture" June 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine accessed 18 June 2013
  5. ^ "Weekly List of Actions, 8/11/14 through 8/15/14". National Park Service. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  6. ^ Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes, p. 47
  7. ^ "Donnell, Forrest C. –Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov.
  8. ^ "Captain William Massie". March 28, 2010.
  9. ^ Eriksmoen, Curt (September 2, 2012). "Riverboat captain 'carried' bullet that killed Hickok". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  10. ^ "National Park Service" (PDF).
  11. ^ "Henry A. Silver's Funeral". St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat. May 30, 1885. p. 10. Retrieved March 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  12. ^ "Mrs. Susan Vashon Dead". The New York Age. December 5, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

  • Carol Ferring Shepley, Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes: Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis: Missouri History Museum, 2008

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellefontaine Cemetery (St. Louis, Missouri).
  • Bellefontaine Cemetery Website
  • Bellefontaine Cemetery, Find a Grave

May 01, 2023
bellefontaine, cemetery, nonprofit, denominational, cemetery, arboretum, louis, missouri, founded, 1849, rural, cemetery, bellefontaine, home, number, architecturally, significant, monuments, mausoleums, such, louis, sullivan, designed, wainwright, tomb, which. Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit non denominational cemetery and arboretum in St Louis Missouri Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Sullivan designed Wainwright Tomb which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Bellefontaine CemeteryThe Wainwright Tomb at Bellefontaine Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Location of Bellefontaine Cemetery in MissouriDetailsEstablished1849Location4947 West Florissant Avenue St Louis Missouri U S CountryUnited StatesCoordinates38 41 51 N 90 14 01 W 38 69737 N 90 23363 W 38 69737 90 23363 Coordinates 38 41 51 N 90 14 01 W 38 69737 N 90 23363 W 38 69737 90 23363TypePublicSize314 acres 127 ha No of graves87 000Websitebellefontainecemetery wbr orgFind a GraveBellefontaine CemeteryThe cemetery contains 314 acres 1 27 km2 of land and over 87 000 graves including those of William Clark Adolphus Busch Thomas Hart Benton Rush Limbaugh and William S Burroughs Many Union and Confederate soldiers from the American Civil War are buried at Bellefontaine as well as numerous local and state politicians Contents 1 History 2 Cemetery today 3 Notable burials 3 1 A K 3 2 L Z 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksHistory EditOn March 7 1849 banker William McPherson and lawyer John Fletcher Darby assembled a group of some of St Louis s most prominent citizens to found the Rural Cemetery Association of St Louis This association sought to respond to the needs of a rapidly growing St Louis by establishing a new cemetery several miles outside city limits St Louis was experiencing exponential population growth during this time and city leaders thought that the existing graveyards which were mostly concentrated along Jefferson Avenue near the city center were an impediment to urban development Many were also convinced that city cemeteries represented a public health hazard see miasma theory These problems were compounded during the summer of 1849 when a massive cholera epidemic swept through St Louis and claimed the lives of more than 4 000 people With existing cemeteries running out of space to expand and with many residents fearing that fumes from nearby cemeteries could cause them to fall ill en masse once again this epidemic further underscored the need for a new rural cemetery for St Louis 1 In 1849 the Rural Cemetery Association purchased the former Hempstead family farm located five miles northwest of the city with the intent to turn it into a large rural cemetery modeled after Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts The association that originated the cemetery named it at first the Rural Cemetery 2 The 138 acre Hempstead farm was situated along the road to Fort Bellefontaine and as a result the Association decided to name its new cemetery after the fort Within a few months the Association had hired landscape architect Almerin Hotchkiss who helped design Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn to begin drafting and implementing a master plan for Bellefontaine Hotchkiss went on to serve as superintendent of the cemetery for the next 46 years he designed most of Bellefontaine s roadways and landscaping and oversaw maintenance of the grounds During this time the cemetery steadily acquired more land so as to provide room for future growth By 1865 it had reached its present day size of 314 acres 3 The first burial at Bellefontaine Cemetery took place on April 27 1850 and the official dedication followed several weeks later Bodies from older graveyards within the city of St Louis were moved to Bellefontaine including some from the cemetery by the Old Cathedral near the Mississippi River Bellefontaine was also the resting place for several victims of the 1855 Gasconade Bridge train disaster the worst railroad disaster in Missouri history Also interred at Bellefontaine are members of several notable brewing families including the Anheusers Buschs Lemps and Griesediecks In 1909 the renowned St Louis architectural firm Eames and Young was commissioned to design a new chapel for the cemetery The Hotchkiss Chapel named for the cemetery s first architect was completely renovated in 2009 and an indoor columbarium was added on to the back The chapel is currently used for weddings and memorial services Two new outdoor columbaria have also opened for inurnments and a green burial natural interment section is pending Cemetery patrons with traditional tastes for family lot group burials and private mausoleums can still obtain these memorialization options at this historic cemetery which has the largest collection of private family mausoleums and sarcophagi in the State of Missouri in a wide array of architecturally acclaimed historical styles Space for traditional casketed vaulted ground burial exists within Bellefontaine s dedicated grounds for the next 200 years at present rates of usage Cemetery today EditAs of 2012 over 87 000 people have been buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery and approximately 100 new burials take place each year Bellefontaine remains a non profit non denominational cemetery and still holds over 100 acres of open unused land Some of this extra land has recently been converted into prairie and woodland Bellefontaine contains over 14 miles of paved roads and as an accredited arboretum is home to over 180 species of trees and shrubs A new lakeside garden and columbarium were completed in 2010 and other major landscaping projects are planned or in progress The cemetery contains the graves of many prominent pioneers to the West as well as businessmen politicians and generals who remain significant figures in the history of St Louis and the United States The oldest graves in the cemetery are located on pioneer Edward Hempstead s family lot and date as far back as 1816 Many of the wealthiest families at Bellefontaine are interred in ornate mausoleums which overlook the Mississippi River and draw from Classical Romanesque Gothic and Egyptian architectural styles Among the most notable mausoleums in the cemetery are the Wainwright Tomb designed for Charlotte Dickson Wainwright by the famed Chicago school architect Louis Sullivan in 1892 the Busch Mausoleum designed for Adolphus Busch and Lilly Anheuser by Barnett Haynes amp Barnett in 1915 and the Brown Brothers Mausoleums designed in 1910 by Isaac Taylor and in 1928 by Mauran Russell and Crowell There are also a number of large family plots in the cemetery many of which are marked by tall obelisk monuments with elaborate bases Guided tours of the cemetery s main historical and architectural highlights are available and are open to the public Alternatively visitors can obtain self guided tour brochures at the cemetery office 4 The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 5 Notable burials Edit The Busch Mausoleum designed by Barnett Haynes amp Barnett David R Francis Paramore MausoleumFurther information Category Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery A K Edit Chris von der Ahe 1851 1913 entrepreneur and owner of the St Louis Brown Stockings which later became the St Louis Cardinals John R Anderson minister 1818 1863 an American minister from St Louis Missouri who fought against slavery and for education for his fellow African Americans Eberhard Anheuser 1805 1880 father in law of Adolphus Busch president and CEO of Eberhard Anheuser and Company predecessor of Anheuser Busch George I Barnett 1815 1898 prominent St Louis architect Edward Bates 1793 1869 United States Attorney General under President Abraham Lincoln William Beaumont 1785 1853 U S Army surgeon known as the Father of Gastric Physiology due to his research on human digestion Robert Benecke 1835 1903 early St Louis photographer Thomas Hart Benton 1782 1858 prominent U S Senator 1821 1851 who championed western expansion and the Homestead Act Mary Odilia Berger S S M April 30 1823 October 17 1880 Founder of the Sisters of St Mary in 1872 in St Louis which established and still runs hospitals throughout the Midwestern United States Thekla M Bernays 1856 1931 Women s suffrage s activist author and lecturer Daniel Bissell 1768 1833 U S Army officer in War of 1812 and on the American Frontier Horace Bixby 1826 1912 steamboat pilot and captain whose cub pilot was Mark Twain Francis Preston Blair Jr 1821 1875 Union Army general in the Civil War politician Susan Blow 1843 1916 educator known as the Mother of Kindergarten Benjamin Bonneville 1796 1876 French born officer in the U S Army fur trapper and explorer in the American West James B Bowlin 1804 1874 U S Representative of Missouri Henry Clay Brockmeyer 1826 1906 poet politician philosopher Robert S Brookings 1850 1932 businessman and philanthropist founder of the Brookings Institution donor to Washington University in St Louis Don Carlos Buell 1818 1898 U S Army general led Union armies in the battles of Shiloh and Perryville William Seward Burroughs 1857 1898 inventor of the mechanical calculator and founder of Burroughs Corporation William S Burroughs 1914 1997 author of novel Naked Lunch icon of Beat Generation Adolphus Busch 1838 1913 founder of Anheuser Busch Company 6 wife Lilly Eberhard Anheuser d 1928 Isidor Bush 1822 1898 intellectual publisher viticulturalist James Gay Butler 1840 1916 tobacco manufacturer major supporter of Lindenwood University Given Campbell 1835 1906 Confederate officer who led the final escape of Jefferson Davis in the last days of the Civil War Robert Campbell 1804 1879 frontiersman banker real estate mogul steamboat owner Virginia Kyle Campbell 1822 1882 socialite wife of Robert Campbell William Chauvenet 1820 1870 scholar educator William Clark 1770 1838 explorer of Louisiana Purchase territory Norman Jay Coleman 1827 1911 first United States Secretary of Agriculture Alban Jasper Conant 1821 1915 artist author educator best known for his Smiling Lincoln portraits Phoebe Wilson Couzins 1842 1913 pioneer suffragette one of the first female lawyers in the United States Ned Cuthbert 1845 1905 baseball player Forrest C Donnell 1884 1980 U S Senator 40th Governor of the State of Missouri 7 James Eads 1820 1887 engineer who constructed bridges railroads and ironclad warships Albert Gallatin Edwards 1812 1892 Assistant Secretary of the U S Treasury under President of the United States Abraham Lincoln and founder of brokerage firm A G Edwards Charles Henry Galloway 1871 1931 church and concert organist conductor and music educator William Greenleaf Eliot 1811 1887 Unitarian minister and civic leader George Engelmann 1809 1884 botanist Sarkis Erganian 1870 1950 Ottoman Armenian painter Bernard G Farrar Jr 1831 1916 Union Army colonel in the Civil War Thomas Clement Fletcher 1827 1899 18th Governor of the State of Missouri issued the proclamation abolishing slavery in the state Della May Fox 1870 1913 actress singer David R Francis 1850 1927 statesman United States Secretary of the Interior governor of Missouri mayor of St Louis ambassador to Russia president of the 1904 St Louis World s Fair Hamilton Rowan Gamble 1798 1864 16th Governor of the State of Missouri during the Civil War chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court at the time of the Dred Scott Decision in 1852 Frederick D Gardner 1869 1933 34th Governor of the State of Missouri and St Louis funeral director and coffin manufacturer Edward James Gay 1816 1889 U S Representative of Louisiana Jessie Gaynor 1863 1921 composer of children s music Fitz W Guerin 1846 1903 Medal of Honor recipient in the American Civil War Rebecca N Hazard 1826 1912 first president of the American Woman s Suffrage Association 1826 to reside west of the Mississippi River Edward Hempstead 1780 1817 lawyer pioneer delegate to the U S House of Representatives for Missouri Territory 1812 1814 James Eads How 1874 1930 son of wealthy St Louis family known as the Millionaire Hobo Benjamin Howard 1760 1814 first governor of Missouri Territory brigadier general in the War of 1812 Bill Joyce baseball 1865 1941 professional baseball player and manager Stephen W Kearny 1794 1848 officer in the U S Army played a significant role in the Mexican American War and the conquest of California George Kessler 1862 1923 landscape architect and city planner John Krum 1810 1883 was a lawyer jurist and mayor of St LouisL Z Edit Albert Bond Lambert 1875 1946 businessman aviator Olympic athlete namesake of Lambert St Louis International Airport Frederick William Lehmann 1853 1931 prominent lawyer statesman United States Solicitor General rare book collector Rush Limbaugh 1951 2021 nationwide radio show host Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame Theodore Link 1850 1923 architect of St Louis Union Station Manuel Lisa 1772 1820 fur trader and explorer Mark Littell 1953 2022 baseball player Richard Barnes Mason 1797 1850 U S Army officer fifth military governor of California before it became a U S state William Massie 1829 1910 riverboat captain famous for living with the bullet that killed Wild Bill Hickok lodged in his wrist 8 9 James Smith McDonnell 1899 1980 founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation John McNeil 1813 1891 Union Army general in the Civil War Mary Meachum 1801 1869 and her husband John Berry Meachum 1789 1854 American abolitionists James F Merton 1845 1900 Medal of Honor recipient for actions during the 1871 United States expedition to Korea John Miller 1781 1846 Fourth Governor of the State of Missouri Virginia Minor 1824 1894 women s suffrage activist 10 Lou Wall Moore c 1860 1924 American sculptor stage actress costume designer dancer and socialite Charles Nagel 1849 1940 U S Representative last United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor co founder of the United States Chamber of Commerce Henry D O Brien 1842 1902 American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient John O Fallon 1791 1865 railroad executive philanthropist namesake of O Fallon Missouri and O Fallon Illinois nephew of William Clark Parrish Sisters Williamina 1879 1941 and Grace Parrish 1882 1954 respected photographers who worked in team as The Parrish Sisters also members of the early 20th century artistic group The Potters John Mason Peck 1789 1858 Baptist missionary educator and journalist Hannah D Pittman 1840 1919 author of the first American comic opera Truston Polk 1811 1876 U S Senator 1857 1862 amp 12th Governor of the State of Missouri John Pope 1822 1892 Union Army general in the Civil War known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run Sterling Price 1809 1867 Confederate Army major general during the Civil War U S Army brigadier general during the Mexican American War 11th Governor of the State of Missouri John G Priest 1822 1900 real estate dealer philanthropist first St Louis Veiled Prophet James McIlvaine Riley 1849 1911 co founder of Sigma Nu International Fraternity Caroline Risque 1883 1952 American painter and sculptor member of The Potters Irma S Rombauer 1877 1962 author of The Joy of Cooking Henry Miller Shreve 1785 1851 steamboat pioneer inventor and namesake of Shreveport Louisiana Henry A Silver 1826 1885 Maryland state delegate 11 Luther Ely Smith 1873 1951 founder of Gateway Arch National Park Theodore Spiering 1871 1925 violinist conductor and teacher Sara Teasdale 1884 1933 Pulitzer Prize winning poet and member of The Potters Augustus Thomas 1857 1934 playwright M Louise Thomas 1851 1947 founder of Lenox Hall St Louis John H Tice 1809 1883 weather predictor writer and educator Susan Paul Vashon 1838 1912 educator abolitionist and clubwoman 12 George Graham Vest 1830 1904 U S Senator Confederate Congressman U S Congressman from Missouri Ellis Wainwright 1850 1924 businessman famous for the Wainwright Building in downtown St Louis buried in Louis Sullivan s 1892 Wainwright Tomb with his wife Charlotte Rosa Kershaw Walker 1840s 1909 author journalist editorSee also EditList of United States cemeteries List of mausoleums Wainwright Tomb Calvary Cemetery St Louis Fort Belle FontaineReferences Edit Bellefontaine Cemetery Website accessed 12 Jun 2013 Billon Frederic Louis 1888 Annals of St Louis in Its Territorial Days from 1804 to 1821 p 390 ISBN 978 0598280671 Biography of Almerin Hotchkiss The Cultural Landscape Foundation accessed 18 June 2013 Architecture Archived June 30 2013 at the Wayback Machine accessed 18 June 2013 Weekly List of Actions 8 11 14 through 8 15 14 National Park Service Retrieved August 31 2014 Movers and Shakers Scalawags and Suffragettes p 47 Donnell Forrest C Biographical Information bioguide congress gov Captain William Massie March 28 2010 Eriksmoen Curt September 2 2012 Riverboat captain carried bullet that killed Hickok The Bismarck Tribune Retrieved August 18 2016 National Park Service PDF Henry A Silver s Funeral St Louis Daily Globe Democrat May 30 1885 p 10 Retrieved March 15 2023 via Newspapers com Mrs Susan Vashon Dead The New York Age December 5 1912 p 1 Retrieved February 18 2020 via Newspapers com Further reading EditCarol Ferring Shepley Movers and Shakers Scalawags and Suffragettes Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery St Louis Missouri History Museum 2008External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellefontaine Cemetery St Louis Missouri Bellefontaine Cemetery Website Bellefontaine Cemetery Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bellefontaine Cemetery amp oldid 1150986297, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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