Greenwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery established in 1874, and located at 6571 St. Louis Avenue in Hillsdale, Missouri. This was the first non-denominational commercial cemetery for African-Americans in the St. Louis area.
Greenwood Cemetery was established in 1874 by Herman Krueger, it has approximately 6,000 marked graves but is thought to contain up to 50,000 burials.[4]
In 1890, the cemetery was sold to Krueger's son-in-law, Adolph Foelsch; the Foelsch family owned and operated the cemetery, including manufacturing concrete tombstones, until 1981. Those buried at Greenwood include former enslaved people, war veterans, members of fraternal organizations, artists, laborers and middle class African-Americans, as well as a number of famous and prominent African-Americans from St. Louis.
Many of the people buried at Greenwood were originally from southern states and had participated in the Great Migration north. Funerals were numerous in Greenwood in the mid-twentieth century, but with desegregation, the cemetery saw a decline in use. In the 1980s it began to go derelict. It permanently closed in the 1990s and continued to stand abandoned for most of a decade. In 1999, the nonprofit group Friends of Greenwood Cemetery, Inc. was formed for the purpose of restoring and preserving the site as a historic park. Eventually the group gained ownership of the cemetery.[5]
Volunteers from the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association have worked to maintain the grounds and preserve African American history.[6]
^"NPGallery Asset Detail: Greenwood Cemetery". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
^Neman, Daniel (2024-02-15). "Three St. Louis-area sites added to Underground Railroad program". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
^ abWoodbury, Emily (January 31, 2020). "Keeping The Legacy Of St. Louis' Historic Black Cemeteries Alive". St. Louis Public Radio (SLPR). Retrieved 2022-01-01.
^Missouri Digital Heritage – Greenwood Cemetery Funerary Art
^"St. Louis recognizes community organization for cleaning up historic African-American cemetery". FOX 2. 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
^Holleman, Joe. "'Still a struggle': Against odds, Father Dickson Cemetery preserves Black history". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
greenwood, cemetery, hillsdale, missouri, greenwood, cemetery, historic, cemetery, established, 1874, located, 6571, louis, avenue, hillsdale, missouri, this, first, denominational, commercial, cemetery, african, americans, louis, area, greenwood, cemeteryu, n. Greenwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery established in 1874 and located at 6571 St Louis Avenue in Hillsdale Missouri This was the first non denominational commercial cemetery for African Americans in the St Louis area Greenwood CemeteryU S National Register of Historic PlacesEntrance to Greenwood CemeteryShow map of St LouisShow map of MissouriShow map of the United StatesLocation6571 St Louis Ave Hillsdale MissouriCoordinates38 41 19 N 90 17 19 W 38 68861 N 90 28861 W 38 68861 90 28861Area31 75 acresBuilt1874ArchitectHerman KruegerNRHP reference No 04000090 1 Added to NRHPFebruary 24 2004 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 24 2004 2 and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2024 3 Contents 1 History 2 Notable interments 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editGreenwood Cemetery was established in 1874 by Herman Krueger it has approximately 6 000 marked graves but is thought to contain up to 50 000 burials 4 In 1890 the cemetery was sold to Krueger s son in law Adolph Foelsch the Foelsch family owned and operated the cemetery including manufacturing concrete tombstones until 1981 Those buried at Greenwood include former enslaved people war veterans members of fraternal organizations artists laborers and middle class African Americans as well as a number of famous and prominent African Americans from St Louis Many of the people buried at Greenwood were originally from southern states and had participated in the Great Migration north Funerals were numerous in Greenwood in the mid twentieth century but with desegregation the cemetery saw a decline in use In the 1980s it began to go derelict It permanently closed in the 1990s and continued to stand abandoned for most of a decade In 1999 the nonprofit group Friends of Greenwood Cemetery Inc was formed for the purpose of restoring and preserving the site as a historic park Eventually the group gained ownership of the cemetery 5 Volunteers from the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association have worked to maintain the grounds and preserve African American history 6 Other nearby historic African American cemetery include the Washington Park Cemetery 1920 Father Dickson Cemetery 1903 and Quinette Cemetery 1866 7 4 Notable interments editWalter Davis 1910 1963 blues musician Lucy A Delaney 1830 1910 activist writer and seamstress Grant Green 1935 1979 jazz musician Harriet Robinson Scott 1815 1876 wife of Dred Scott Lee Shelton 1865 1912 also known as Stagger Lee American folk figure Charlton Tandy 1836 1919 public official civil rights activist lawyer newspaper publisherSee also editNational Register of Historic Places listings in St Louis County MissouriReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 NPGallery Asset Detail Greenwood Cemetery National Park Service U S Department of the Interior Retrieved 2022 01 01 Neman Daniel 2024 02 15 Three St Louis area sites added to Underground Railroad program STLtoday com Retrieved 2024 02 15 a b Woodbury Emily January 31 2020 Keeping The Legacy Of St Louis Historic Black Cemeteries Alive St Louis Public Radio SLPR Retrieved 2022 01 01 Missouri Digital Heritage Greenwood Cemetery Funerary Art St Louis recognizes community organization for cleaning up historic African American cemetery FOX 2 2018 02 26 Retrieved 2022 01 01 Holleman Joe Still a struggle Against odds Father Dickson Cemetery preserves Black history STLtoday com Retrieved 2021 12 31 External links editHistoric Greenwood Cemetery Greenwood Cemetery at Find a Grave nbsp U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Greenwood Cemetery This article about a property in St Louis County Missouri on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Greenwood Cemetery Hillsdale Missouri amp oldid 1207795209, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
