Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum

4947 West Florissant Avenue

St. Louis, Missouri 63115

314-381-0750

Free Admission and free parking.  Several trolly tours and guided walks are available free or at a small fee.  Our fee was $5.00.

BellefontaineCemetery.org

Founded 1849

Having visited most of the museums in the St. Louis area our group decided to participate in some local guided tours. Bellefontaine was on the top of our list and imagine my surprise when I realized that it actually fits the definition of a museum: a museum is a place or building where objects of historical, artistic, or scientific interest are exhibited, preserved, or studied.  Upon entering one might think that this is just a cemetery, a beautiful one at that, but we certainly learned quickly that it definitely contains objects of historical, artistic and scientific interest!

Upon entering you are greeted by two stone buildings - Willow Gatehouse and the Visitor Center, which is surrounded by native plants and flowers. Here one can get information about the location of burials (also on website) as well as brochures and maps to aid in self-guided tours. 

We chose to take a two-hour trolley tour and it was wonderful. The trolley was air conditioned and comfortable and best of all we had an outstanding tour guide, Lacy Reinhardt.  The cemetery is 314 acres and has 14 miles of roadways so obviously we only touched on very little of what is there.  

The cemetery was established in 1849 - 175 years ago - as St. Louis's first rural cemetery as the city cemeteries struggled to fulfill the need for burials.  It was also the first rural cemetery west of the Mississippi River and was established just 18 years after the first one in the United States. From the beginning it was meant to be inclusive, welcoming all, as well as an example of fine architecture and horticulture. 

The original purchase included the Hempstead family farm and graveyard, shown below, with tombstones dating back to 1813.  The sassafras tree shown in the back of the picture is believed to have been planted by the Hempstead family in the 1700's. 

We saw only a small number of the significant graves in Bellefontaine on this trolly tour as there as so many. I will share a few that we saw.

The most visited grave in the cemetery is that of William Clark (1770-1838) (think Lewis and Clark), former governor of the Missouri Territory. (Note - all pictures were taken through the trolly windows thus sometimes things got in the way such as this writing on the pane of glass.) Clark rests beneath a tall, granite obelisk, with his bronze bust before it. His grave is at the highest point in Bellefontaine and overlooks the Mississippi River. 

Another popular graveside is the Woman in the Glass. Herman Luyties commissioned a version of the Monteverde Angel in Italy and the large marble statue stands over his grave surrounded with granite and glass to protect its marble from the weather. The legends surrounding this statue add to its popularity.  

David R. Francis was president of the 1904 World's Fair, mayor of St. Louis, and governor of Missouri. He was also U.S. Ambassador to Russia during World War I and Russia's revolutionary upheaval. 

William Sublette, a fur trader, led the first wagon train over the Oregon Trail, finding the needed passage to get to the West. He returned to St. Louis a wealthy man. His will stated that his new wife Frances could not inherit his wealth if she did not keep his name.  She got around this by eventually marrying his brother Solomon thus keeping his name.  Francis and Solomon are also buried under this obelisk.  

This grave with all of the American flags belongs to Rush Limbaugh known for his conservative political talk radio show.  He passed away in 2021. 

Henry Blow was a two-term U.S. Representative from Missouri. Although his family was a former owner of slave Dred Scott, Blow believed in the abolition of slavery and supported Scott through his court cases seeking freedom.  Blow's daughter to the left is perhaps more famous - Susan Blow is considered the founder of kindergarten in the United States.

This ornate gravestone is for the grave of Blow's wife Minerva Grimsley who died three months before him. 

These three stones in the front mark the graves of the parents and grandmother of Vincent Price, American actor and art historian. His father was president of the National Candy Company. 

There is a section of the cemetery dedicated to those associated with universities.  There are two of these Chinese figures marking the graves of Chinese Royalty that were associated with Washington University. 

Perhaps the most impressive grave markers are the mausoleums of which there are many, especially on Prospect Avenue, known as Millionaires' Row. This Wainwright Tomb is viewed by many as one of the most beautiful and architecturally significant tombs in the United States. In 1970 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The architect that designed the Wainwright Building in downtown St. Louis also designed this tomb for the family.  Wainwright was a wealthy brewery heir.

Across the road from this tomb is the Lemp mausoleum, the largest mausoleum in Bellefontaine.  It was wired for electricity. The Lemp family were large brewers.   

The Tate Mausoleum, built in 1907, is in an Egyptian Style complete with the lions on the front. 

Found on a different road is this red granite Bavarian Gothic mausoleum that Lily Anheuser Busch had built in 1921 for her husband Adolphus Busch who had died eight years earlier. Busch was not only known for his brewery (eventually the largest in the United States) but they were also known for their philanthropy.  At the time of Busch's death it required 25 trucks to carry all the flowers to the cemetery.  

This bronze replica of a spire on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is atop his mausoleum as one more example of how grand it was. Today it would cost $7.5 million to replace Busch's mausoleum. 

This three level and very ornate mausoleum is the newest one at Bellefontaine.  It was built by a local family and currently stands empty.  

The cemetery also has some columbariums for cremated remains. Hotchkiss Chapel, built in 1909, is one.  In addition it is used for funeral/memorial services, small weddings, and other special events. 

Wildwood Valley is a botanical memorial garden which includes an outdoor columbarium, part of which can be seen here.  

Across the lake from Wildwood Valley is a family columbarium belonging to the Charles F. Herman family.  Ashes were added for family members from 1903-1984. 

There are 13 underground burial chambers in Bellefontaine. Ann Farrar, niece of William Clark, rests in this one which is below a small Greek temple.  When the flat piece of granite seen on the floor of the temple is rolled away, one can use the then available steps to descend to a below-ground chamber which holds thirteen caskets. 

Below are graves of Civil War soldiers.  The two outer ones were Union soldiers and the center one was a Confederate soldier as evidenced by the flags. The cemetery allows the use of this Confederate flag as it is the historically correct flag. In addition the cemetery has ten Medal of Honor recipients, more than any other Missouri cemetery. 

This memorial garden, Garden of Angels, provides free graves and services for families who have lost an infant under the age of two. This is one example of the cemetery's mission to serve all, not just the wealthy. 

This is an example of the rare family plot that was enclosed by a wall. There are also a few remaining family plots with short iron fences but not many. 

If you look carefully at this name - Hubbard. - you will see that it is followed by a period.  There are many of these in the cemetery.  The period indicates that this is the end of the family male line. 

There are several markers that one on a self-guided tour should be aware of. The cemetery uses waist-high black poles to indicate that the grave there is one of significance so that those touring the cemetery might take note. This particular pole marks the grave of Eliza Haycraft, St. Louis's Civil War madam and philanthropist. She was buried in 1871 with no marker but a gravestone for her is in the planning.  Approximately 15% of the graves in Bellefontaine are unmarked. 

Also when significant graves are a distance from the road, a banner, such as this green one, might be hanging from the grave marker. 

This informational plaque was near the Visitor's Center.  There may be others in the cemetery. 

Green burials are allowed throughout the cemetery. Certified by the Green Burial Council, the Cemetery offers the region’s highest level of green burial options.  Evergreen Meadow, pictured here beyond the path, is a dedicated green burial area. Allowed here are only un-embalmed full burials, biodegradable outer containers (shroud or simple casket), and no markers or specific plantings. 

Bellefontaine is an ArbNet accredited Level III Arboretum, the first in Missouri and one of only 44 in the world. It is also a member of the American Public Gardens, Botanical Garden Conservation International, Missouri Prairie Foundation/Grow Native, Missouri Green Industry Alliance, the American Daffodil Society, and the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak. The grounds have three lakes which provide all the needed water for the cemetery and arboretum. 

While we were there, a truck arrived from the St. louis Zoo to complete its monthly task of harvesting tree parts for certain zoo species that have specific food needs. There are 9,000 trees in 5,000 varieties on the grounds.  There are markers throughout that identify the different tree species. 

Often the arboretum is able to boast that they have a champion tree in Missouri, that is the largest of that species.  Currently this tree is the champion Red Mulberry Tree. 

The cemetery is known for its daffodils and irises but it also has planted flower beds near the entrance. It creates a gorgeous cemetery. 

After the tour we had lunch at J. McGraugh's in Clayton, a local bar and grill.  

They offer salads such as this Asian Chicken Salad...

and sandwiches such as Philly Cheesesteak which was ordered here with coleslaw. They also offer half-sandwiches with soup or half-salad.  

There are a number of hamburger options. These home-made chips were great. 

Comments:  As soon as we got off the trolly everyone voiced an immediate strong interest in doing more tours at the cemetery. It was that good!  The tour guide was excellent - well-spoken, engaging, lots of humor, and extremely knowledgeable. And obviously we had seen only a small part of the cemetery so there is lots more to see. There are tours that include some walking allowing one to look in some of the ornate mausoleums which would be fascinating. There are specialty tours such as one centered around the Civil War. Their website EVENTS section includes all of the tours.  Many are free.  

There was so much St. Louis history intertwined with this cemetery tour that for those of us from the area it was especially fun to hear it and learn about it. 

And the grounds are beautiful.  We definitely want to return when the many daffodils are blooming - and yes, they have a spring flower event!

The Visitor's Center offers a number of brochures/books for various self-guided tours on various topics.  I would definitely recommend using one if you chose to tour the cemetery on your own.  

We decided not to stay in the immediate area to eat lunch and instead headed down highway 170 to Ladue Road where we ate at a recommended neighborhood bar and grill. The staff was friendly and the place clean and quiet.  They were out of several items but we all found menu listings that we liked and we enjoyed our meal.  As there is no parking lot, parking was a little tricky.