Washington Park Cemetery is a historic
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
active from 1920 until 1980 and located in
Berkeley, Missouri, a suburb of
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. Large-scale
disinterment occurred over several decades for various construction projects. , local cleanup efforts continue due to its long-term state of disrepair.
History
Washington Park Cemetery was founded in 1920 by businessmen Andrew Henry Watson and Joseph John Hauer as a for-profit, perpetual-care
burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
site for African Americans, eventually becoming the largest African-American cemetery in the St. Louis region at the time.
Whites opposed the construction of the cemetery
and though Watson and Hauer were supportive of
segregationist notions regarding land rights, equal interment, and use of public parks, they defended the rights of black visitors to picnic on the grounds. As a result, they were the subject of criticism for, “disrupting bucolic country land with the presence of black St. Louisans.”
Beginning in the latter half of the 21st century, the cemetery was impacted by three construction projects. In the late 1950s, 75 acres were claimed for
Interstate 70,
which bisected the cemetery's property and paved over graves. In 1972, an expansion to the
St. Louis Lambert International Airport claimed nine acres. In 1992, an expansion to St. Louis's light rail system,
MetroLink, claimed more land. Across these three projects, an estimated 11,974 to 13,600 bodies were disinterred and relocated, resulting in some families losing track of their ancestral graves.
Restoration
The cemetery ceased business operations in the late 1980s.
Local activists and media have highlighted the cemetery for its management,
disrepair,
and for billboards placed in the cemetery's grounds.
In August 2020, those billboards were removed from the cemetery after a lawsuit settlement between billboard company, DDI Media, and area resident Wanda Brandon's activist group, the Washington Park Cemetery Anti-Desecration League.
News reports in 2019 stated that the city of Berkeley would be purchasing the cemetery in 2019 for $30. Restoration efforts at the cemetery by various volunteer groups are ongoing, in hopes of turning this into a heritage site.
, the city's website states that the cemetery remains in private hands.
Another news report, in March 2022, stated that the cemetery is in a trust held by St. Louis County because of unpaid taxes.
Other nearby historic African American cemeteries include the
Greenwood Cemetery (1874),
Father Dickson Cemetery
Father Dickson Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery located on 845 South Sappington Road in Crestwood, St. Louis County, Missouri.
It has been listed as one of the National Register of Historic Places since October 6, 2021.
Histor ...
(1903), and
Quinette Cemetery (1866).
Notable burials
*
Miles Dewey Davis Jr. Miles Dewey Davis Jr. (March 1, 1898 – May 21, 1962) was an American dentist and father of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.
Biography
Davis was born on March 1, 1898, in Noble Lake, Arkansas. He was a son of Miles Dewey Davis Sr. and Mary (Luster ...
(1898–1962) – dental surgeon and father of jazz musician
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
.
*
Jessie Housley Holliman (1905–1984) – an educator, muralist, printmaker, and commercial artist.
*
Joseph E. Mitchell (1876–1952) and William Mitchell (1896–1945) – brothers who co-founded the
St. Louis Argus
''St. Louis Argus'' is an African-American-oriented weekly newspaper founded in 1912 by brothers Joseph Everett Mitchell and William Mitchell. It began as a newsletter for an insurance company named Western Union Relief Association. The ''Argus'' ...
.
*
Charles Hubbard Thompson (1891–1964) – ragtime pianist and composer, known for "Lily Rag."
*
George L. Vaughn
George L. Vaughn (circa 1880 - August 24, 1949) was a lawyer and judge in St. Louis, Missouri. As a lawyer, he was involved in a prominent civil rights case involving housing discrimination, most notably Shelley v. Kraemer, in which the eviction of ...
(1885–1950) – attorney, known for representing J.D. Shelley in the Supreme Court case
Shelley v. Kraemer
''Shelley v. Kraemer'', 334 U.S. 1 (1948), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark United States Supreme Court case that held that racially restrictive housing Covenant (law), covenants cannot legally be enforced.
The ...
(1948).
See also
*
List of cemeteries in the United States
This is a list of cemeteries in the United States. The list includes both active and historic sites, and does not include pet cemeteries. At the end of the list by states, cemeteries in territories of the United States are included. The list is ...
References
External links
Saving Washington Park Cemeterywebsite
*
{{Authority control
Berkeley, Missouri
Cemeteries in Missouri
Cemeteries in St. Louis
African-American history in St. Louis
1920 establishments in Missouri
1980 disestablishments in Missouri
African-American cemeteries in Missouri