PRINTGrave Anatomy
Dig deep into the culture of Columbia’s cemeteries
John Schreiber
After you know the history behind some of Columbia's cemeteries, they don't seem as scary as Hollywood makes them out to be.
October 29, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
A morning fog settles over trees as people walk across a leaf-ridden path and peruse the scenery. Visitors inevitably stumble upon Mary Jane Todd. A constant presence, she is unmoving and stoic in her location. Indeed, Todd is the oldest inhabitant of Columbia Cemetery. She died in 1823.
Todd is just one long-time inhabitant of the Victorian-era cemetery, which was established in 1820 and also designed as a place for community members to gather and be near deceased loved ones. “Memorials are nothing if not directed at those who will look upon them and be called to remember,” said Keith Eggener in an e-mail. Eggener is an associate professor of American Art and Archaeology at MU whose new book, Cemeteries, will be released in 2010. “They offer summations of lives lived and speak of community, the connection to place, mortality, afterlife and eternity.”
Columbia boasts more than 270 cemeteries, according to David Sapp, local cemetery buff and board member of the Columbia Cemetery Association. Sapp defines a cemetery as having one to hundreds of plots. Of the many cemeteries in Columbia, he says about 50 to 60 are extinct. “I could take you out and show you where to look, but to the naked eye, you would never even know anything was there,” Sapp says. Most of these extinct graveyards belong to family farms that have been demolished and redistributed over time to make way for development and expansion of the community. Often headstones are moved, but the caskets beneath them remain.
Liz Kennedy, a historian for the Boone County Historical Society and long-time member of the Columbia Cemetery Association, is one of many who have lost family plots to community expansion and land redistribution. “My grandmother is buried in a steel casket,” she says. She anticipates that the heavy metal box will be difficult for developers to exhume.
Many extinct cemeteries were filled with limestone headstones that deteriorated over time, another factor in the loss of historical gravesites. Maintenance, or lack thereof, is a big issue with the demise of several cemeteries and family gravesites in Boone County and around the country.
Similar to hidden graveyards, visible burial grounds are just as scary — if not more. Perhaps this is what inspires séances, vandalism and other strange ocurrences that emerge around Halloween time. “Halloween is a socially sanctioned holiday that makes it acceptable for many to indulge in risky behavior that might be unacceptable during other times of year,” says LuAnne Roth, a folklore instructor at MU. She says people like to believe urban legends that never actually happened. “It’s like the razorblades in Halloween candy, or unsafe trick-or-treating stories. I’ve heard them, you’ve heard them, but no one has ever actually had that happen.” This circle of fear is enhanced by the time of year and willingness to believe in fear itself. With a full moon expected on Nov. 2, who knows how things will play out?
Knowing more about the history of seemingly scary places makes it easier to appreciate them. For example, in a section of the 34-acre Columbia Cemetery grows a circle of cedars that is rumored to be the final resting place of a witch — one that teens have attempted to resurrect by sitting around the circle, according to Tanja Patton, superintendent of the cemetery. “But nothing has ever happened,” she says. The truth behind the circle of cedars is less than frightening. According to Kennedy, the circle used to house a bandstand and is now currently home to a tool shed. “We are planning on making that area a scatter garden for those who want to spread the remains of their loved ones after they’ve been cremated,” says Kennedy. She notes that the cedars’ growth was not the action of otherworldly forces; they were purposefully planted.
Sometimes cemeteries aren’t as chilling as Hollywood movies make them out to be. Columbia Cemetery comes to mind. It is home to many Mizzou namesakes, from Walter Williams, former university president and founder of the School of Journalism, to Frederick A. Middlebush, who served as university president twice, to world-renowned singer Jane Froman. Soldiers who fought in every war from the Revolutionary War through Desert Storm are also buried here. A compilation of Boone County cemeteries in the genealogical library at the Boone County Historical Society notes that countless other well-known historical figures are buried in the county.
One of the most interesting — and exclusive — historical sites is Jewell Cemetery. Located alongside South Providence Road and maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, this cemetery is the family burial ground for George Jewell and his descendents, including his son William Jewell, co-founder of William Jewell College, as well as C. H. Hardin, the 22nd governor of Missouri. “No one but the husband, wife or child, of a descendant of George Jewell can be buried here,” reads the inscription on the iron gate at the cemetery’s entrance. It was common to have family cemeteries on the homestead, and they were often close to the house. Our ancestors saw that death was not something to be scared of, but as something to be celebrated.
The Historical Society recognized the Columbia Cemetery and its adjacent sections as a Missouri Historic Site in 1996. In 2007 the site was recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as a historical monument. “We had a whole celebration,” says Kennedy. “It’s a big deal, the National Register.” She says children even dressed up as famous people buried in the cemetery in order to celebrate the honor. According to the National Park System’s Web site, “National Register properties have significance to the history of their community, state, or the nation.”
Another cemetery with historic significance is Old Bethel Church and Cemetery. The oldest known burial spot in Boone county, Old Bethel dates back to 1817 — four years before Missouri was even a state. Although it has been abandoned for a while, it’s still a trendsetter for today’s burials. “Back then they used a headstone and a footstone, a lot like a bed today,” Sapp says. “The footstone would have been blank or would have the person’s initials on it, and the headstone would be similar to ones today.” Traditionally, the body was buried with its feet facing east and the head to the west. Sapp says this layout applies to most cemeteries in Boone County and around the nation. The theory was that on the proverbial Judgment Day the corpses would “sit up” and face the sunrise, ready for the questioning gaze of their respected higher authority.
While traditional cemeteries are the most common in Columbia — underground, casket burials — there are other options for those who want a more personalized remembrance. Memorial Park Cemetery on Creasy Springs Road has the most modern accouterments including mausoleums, family crypts and an assortment of cremation burial options that make choosing a final resting spot personal.
Columbia Cemetery, acknowledged for its impressive historical relevance, still has plenty of spots available for sale. “We have over ten thousand graves here, but there are thousands of spaces still available,” Patton says. “I usually tell people to just drive around, see what you like, and then we can focus on a specific plot or area to choose from.” Another feature of Columbia Cemetery is a program that allows family members to request a tree to be planted on the plot they purchased. Often families will create a family plot which allows for more creative usage of land. This program is designed to create an aesthetically pleasing look to the cemetery.
The commonly accepted size for a burial plot is 4-by-8 feet to 4-by-10 feet in size. Multiple plots combined together allow for more decorative space. “The family will pick the tree or we will select one based on a request they’ve made,” Patton says. “We plant it and maintain it, I even get out there on the mower.” Those who choose to be cremated can still be buried at most cemeteries on a 2-by-4 space.
A stark contrast to the park-like Columbia Cemetery is Memorial Park Cemetery and Funeral Home. Established in 1928, Memorial Park is a modern interpretation of a traditional cemetery. Impeccably manicured and inviting, the most noticeable characteristic of Memorial is that there are no headstones. Well, not when you look from eye level. They are all parallel to the ground with the exception of a few monuments, mausoleums and crypts. “The reason they lay flat is to make maintenance easier,” Sapp says. “You can mow right over them without having to trim around them.”
Sapp has researched and documented cemeteries in Boone County for more than 12 years. He says he has an immense interest in old gravesites in the county and that his favorite cemetery is the Johnson family cemetery located near Englewood. “I mainly like it because it’s so isolated. There are anywhere from 100 to 200 graves there and it is well-marked and maintained,” he says.
Cemeteries exist to allow families to remain close to their loved ones after death. They create a place for communities to come together and reminisce about times gone and loved ones lost. During a time of year when ghosts rule and goblins drool, it is only appropriate that we awaken some of the stories that might otherwise rest in peace.
Columbia Cemetery has been in use since 1820 and holds many Revolutionary War soldiers.
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Obelisks represent timelessness and memorialization.
Historical Jewell Cemetery contains graves that date back to the 1800s.
