Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout2015 annual reportCemetery Resource Board Report July 2015 The City of Jefferson has a rich history of founding families located in three municipal cemeteries in Jefferson City. Each cemetery has its own unique history of individuals and families who were pioneers of our great City. Most original settlers of Jefferson City came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas. Many of Jefferson City's pioneer families are buried at Woodland Cemetery and Old City Cemetery. The vast majority of the early pioneers were of nearly pure English and African American ancestry. The influence of German settlers was not seen significantly until the middle to late 1830's. The City of Jefferson was incorporated on November 7, 1825. James Dunnica, William Jones, Jesse F. Royston, Josiah Ramsey and Daniel Colgan were named as trustees. A year later, the State Capitol building was completed by James Dunnica, firmly establishing Jefferson City as the state capitol. McDaniel Davis established the first distillery here; Daniel Colgan operated the earliest store which was located near the current capitol grounds. The first issue of the "Jeffersonian Republican" was printed January 24, 1826. Calvin Gunn and W.F. Dunnica operated the paper. I. B. Read, who would later found the Woodland Cemetery, opened a store in 1828. From this small group of early pioneers, the City of Jefferson was formed. Joshua Chambers, the last of those original pioneers, died in 1878. As the City of Jefferson grew, so did the need to establish an organized appropriate burial site for residents who died. Outlot No. 38 was set aside as a graveyard during the early days of the town. Although now located in the middle of Jefferson City, at the time it was established, "Old City Cemetery" was on the outskirts of the city and stands as a reminder of our early heritage. Research compiled by MarkS. Schreiber indicates there are a total of 1, 794 burials with markers in the Old City and Woodland Cemeteries. Of those 437 are children. Besides a number of state officials and early mayors of Jefferson City, there are 15 pioneer physicians, six sheriffs, eight former chiefs of police, three prison wardens and two known Revolutionary War soldiers buried in the cemeteries. (Old) City Cemetery is located at 1000 East McCarty Street and dates back to 1826. This property was set aside as a graveyard during the early days of Jefferson City and is bounded by Chestnut Street on the West, East McCarty Street on the North, East Miller Street on the South, and includes the Clark Mausoleum. This cemetery is not active with new burials but has a rich history of interesting residents of Jefferson City who are buried here. Woodland Cemetery is located at 1022 East McCarty Street and dates back to 1837. This property was purchased at a State auction by Israel and Mary Reed, who laid out the cemetery and started selling burial lots and family plots. The cemetery is located between the (Old} City Cemetery and the National Cemetery. This cemetery is not active with the sale of grave spaces but is still being used by family members for burials in established family plots. This cemetery also has a section for the State of Missouri where many early State dignitaries are buried including Governor Marmaduke who died in office in 1887. This cemetery is also rich with history of many of the founding families of Jefferson City. Longview Cemetery is l ocated at 204 Scotts Station Road and dates back to 1922 . Th is property was purchased by the City of Jefferson to continue as the city cemetery when the (Old) City Cemetery became fu ll. This cemetery is currently active with burials and is al so r ich with more rece nt history of Jefferson Ci ty. In 2011, the City of Jefferson created a Cemetery Resource Board to oversee the maintenance of the Jefferson City Municipal Cemeteries, (Woodland/Old City Cemetery and Longview Cemetery). The Cemetery Resource Board was comprised of five members from the community who were qualified for appointment by having an interest or expertise and being familiar with the subject of enhancement and maintenance of sepulchers and cemeteries. The Cemetery Resource Board meets three times a year and conducts onsite visits to Woodland/Old City Cemetery and longview Cemetery to review the condition and offer guidance in the maintenance and upkeep of the cemeteries. The board also recommends rates of burial plots, reviews maintenance contracts, and review complaints regarding the city owned cemeteries. The current Cemetery Resource Board Members are: Steven Wells (Chairman) Michael Shellman Nancy Thompson Sherri Cook Mark Schreiber (Council Representative) In the past several years the Cemetery Resource Board has been very active in the overseeing the progress and maintenance of the cemeteries. In 2012 the board met and reviewed the conditions of the cemeteries. A project list was then created to identify the most needed areas to maintain the city cemeteries in good condition. The project list consisted of: 1. Examine the deterioration of the stone wall bordering Woodland/Old City Cemetery. 2. Examine the Clark Mausoleum to determine what maintenance repair is needed for preservation. 3. Look at landscaping options such as the addition of trees. 4. Examine family wall/plot borders for preservation and restoration. 5. Examine grave markers that need repaired or restored. 6. Align and straighten grave markers throughout the cemeteries. 7. Look for possible solutions for excess stone material located at lower side of Woodland/Old City Cemetery. 8. Provide sitting areas in the cemeteries to enhance visitor enjoyment. 9. Provide narration plaques for graves of interest such as the State of Missouri burial plot. 10. Contact gardening groups who may be interested in planting flowers to enhance the landscape of the cemeteries. 11. Upgrade cemetery records for future generations to find people in the cemeteries. Throughout the last several years many of these projects have seen progress. In 2012, the Cemetery Resource Board was approached by Mr. Glover Brown who had an idea to erect a monument to honor the people who reside in Woodland/Old City Cemetery in unmarked graves. Mr. Brown had a personal story of his aunt who was one of these individuals who is buried in Old City Cemetery, but the family at the time was unable to provide a marker for her resting place. Mr. Brown with the support of family, friends, and the support of the community erected this monument located on the west end of Old City Cemetery to honor those individuals buried in unmarked graves. Individuals with family in unmarked graves, located in Woodland/Old City Cemetery, are welcomed to add their loved ones names to the monument for a small fee. Remembrance Monument Dedication Further meetings in 2012 saw the Cemetery Resource Boards recommendation for the increase of the burial plots at Longview Cemetery from $200.00 to $400.00 and the requirement for all individuals who are buried in Longview Cemetery have a mandatory gravestone be placed at their grave site. A web page was also created on the City of Jefferson website for the cemeteries. The web page consisted of historical information about the cemeteries, resources for finding individuals buried in the cemeteries, and a history of notable individuals buried in the cemetery. Information regarding the cemeteries was also put on the Jefferson City app created by Michael Rol in g. The city cemetery maintenance contract was also reviewed in 2012 with the se le ct ion of Lambe rson Lawn Care as the contractor. Increased oversight of maintenance saw an increase in t he beautification of all the cemeteries. In 2013, numerous discussions occurred about securing funds and creating a plan for which graves or monuments should be restored . The Cemetery Resource Board decided that gra vestones t hat were leaning or un stab le should be the first sto ne s repaired and restored to prevent injury to visitors of the cemetery. The City Council graciously budgeted $5000.00 for the start of restoring Woodland/Old City Cemetery. A plan was created by city staff on which stones wo uld be the first to be restored. Bids were then requested from experts in the field of restoration in 2014 and the first major proactive restoration project began in Woodland/Old City Cemetery. Capital Monument Company was selected to repair and restore over 30 gravestones. This included the level, resetting, repairing, and cleaning of the stones that were most unstable in the cemetery. This project was completed in the summer of 2014. Many of the gravestones we r e un stable and ne eded to be resealed to the base . Also cracks and chips needed to be repaired. Many of the stones had lichen s present on the exterior that needed removed to prevent further deterioation and also made the sto ne s more legible to read. Some of the gravesto nes were comp letely off their base and ne eded to be reset and sealed. The contr actor carefully lifted and positioned each stone to keep the correct positioning and location. This in turn kept with the historical boundaries of the cemeteries for preservation. Also in 2014 Cemetery Resource Board Member Nancy Thompson has provided extensive research of individuals buried in Woodland/Old City Cemetery. Nancy ha s researched many individual s in this cemetery and has put their information on the "Find A Grave" website (www.findagrave.com ). Also re sea rch compiled by Nancy has found many individuals buried in Woodland/Old City Cemetery in unmarked graves. A listing of these individuals can be found on the City of Jefferson website at www . jeffcitymo. or g. In 2015 the Cemetery Resource Board incorporated work days and invited volunteers to help in cleaning up and restoring gravestones that were leaning or needed re-set. Bo ard members got together and inv ited preservationi st, volunteers, Cub Scouts, and Girls Scouts to help participate in these work days events in May 2015. Preservationist Darrel Strope taught volunteers on how to reset stones that were broken , leaning, or had fallen over. Cemetery Board Member Sherri Cook invited Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts to place American flags by veterans grave markers in Woodland/Old City Cemetery. Cemetery Work Day May 2015 Restored Gravestones/Flags for Veteran Markers Clark Mausoleum Future projects for restoration in 2015 include the Clark Mausoleum as well as stra ightening and repositioning many gravestones that need attention . The Clark Mauso leum has shown signs of weathering and disstabilization, so it has become a priority to the Cemetery Resource Board to restore and preserve it's structure. Clark Mausoleum longview Cemetery Burials continue in Longview Cemetery with an average of about 10-15 burials per year. The current fee for a plot in Longview Cemetery is $400.00. A mandatory gravestone is also required by ordinance. Enhancements to the cemetery include an Eagle Scout project with a walk way and sitting bench for visitors to rest as well as the addition of a trash container to prevent litter in the cemetery. Increased attention to filling and leveling of grave by the contractor has made for more stable grave sites. Also detailed trimming of vegetation al ong neighboring fence lin es has made the ce metery apperance more appealing to visitors. Example of Required Gravestone in longview Cemetery Eagle Scout Project by James Sheppers in Longview Cemetery In conclusion, the Cemetery Resource Board continues to actively pursue the improvement of Jefferson City Municipal Cemeteries. Continued restoration of historic grave stones and maintenance of the grounds is a primary goal of the board. With continued support from the city and community, these goals will be accomplished to maintain these historic cemeteries. Respectfully submitted, Steven Wells Chairman City of Jefferson Cemetery Resource Board