Sappington Cemetery State Historic Site is a

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

state

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

located approximately southwest of Arrow Rock in Saline County. The cemetery houses the graves of John Sappington and two of his sons-in-law, Meredith Miles Marmaduke and

Claiborne Fox Jackson Claiborne Fox Jackson (April 4, 1806 – December 6, 1862) was an American politician of the Democratic Party in Missouri. He was elected as the 15th Governor of Missouri, serving from January 3, 1861, until July 31, 1861, when he was for ...

, who each served as governor of Missouri before the American Civil War. John Sappington (1776–1856) was a prominent early physician and businessman in Missouri. He was a proponent of using

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...

in the treatment of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and was at the time the largest importer of the drug in the United States. Sappington also wrote the first medical book published west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Sappington and his family were deeply involved in antebellum Missouri Democratic politics. Two of his sons-in-law, Meredith Miles Marmaduke and Claiborne Fox Jackson, were elected as governors of Missouri. Grandson

John Sappington Marmaduke John Sappington Marmaduke (March 14, 1833 – December 28, 1887) was an American politician and soldier. He served as the 25th governor of Missouri from 1885 until his death in 1887. During the American Civil War, he was a senior officer ...

was a noted Confederate General in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

; he also was elected as Missouri Governor in later years. Established by Sappington in 1831, the two-acre cemetery holds 111 headstones and grave markers. Sappington Cemetery became a part of the Missouri State Park system in 1967 by act of the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are ...

. In order to preserve its historic nature and appearance, the site has not been modified for

ADA Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...

accessibility. No restrooms or other facilities are provided. The site is open sunrise to sunset year-round. Sappington_African_American_Historic_Site

Sappington_African_American_Historic_Site

The state historic site was expanded in 2014 to include the nearby "Sappington Negro Cemetery," used initially for the burial of the family's enslaved African Americans before the war.

References

External links

Sappington Cemetery State Historic Site
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{Protected Areas of Missouri Missouri State Historic Sites Buildings and structures in Saline County, Missouri 1967 establishments in Missouri Protected areas established in 1967 Cemeteries in Missouri Protected areas of Saline County, Missouri