Historic Mt. Memorial Cemetery in Liberty, Missouri

Mt. Memorial Cemetery, Liberty, Missouri.Photo byCrewbrom, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This historic cemetery is located in the 500 block of East Mississippi Street in Liberty, Missouri (Clay County). The historic name is Mt. Memorial Cemetery and also known as The Old Graveyard. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 2012.

Interestingly, this cemetery is also on the campus of William Jewell College. The cemetery was established in 1828. It contains 554 documented burials, some of which date back to 1828. The Find-a-Grave record lists 448 names at this cemetery.

The cemetery is up on a hilltop, said to be one of the highest places in Clay County, and associated with the area's early settlement. It's owned by the City of Liberty. The cemetery is on 1.4 acres at the easternmost end of Mississippi Street. It's also in the middle of the William Jewell College campus.

The cemetery is contained inside a concrete wall built in 1910. It's unknown how many unmarked graves there are. Older monuments are made of marble and limestone while newer ones are made of granite. The cemetery is maintained by the City of Liberty.

A decade ago, the cemetery was still used for burials and there aren't any available plots to purchase. The cemetery is an example of how early settlers in Liberty practiced burial customs.

Photo byFacebook/Friends of Liberty Historic Cemeteries.

Located to the west of the cemetery is the home of the president of William Jewell College. Other college facilities, Jewell Hall, and Gano Chapel are to the north and east.

The cemetery had more trees but some were knocked down during a 2003 tornado. Some of the monuments and markers are scattered and some are in rows. It wasn't uncommon for space to go unused. While the north end was designated for African Americans, there's no evidence the cemetery was segregated. The grave markers' stylistic character is eclectic.

In the eclectic world of memorial art, various types of headstones make their mark, each with distinctive materials and shapes. They range from the stoic upright headstones to whimsical novelty shapes, encapsulating memories with craftsmanship and flair. (Source.)

This cemetery doesn't have any mausoleums or tombs. Some of the markers could have been purchased later by a descendant. Some are 150 years old and some are far more current. One of the oldest ones belongs to Charlie Desmon and dates back to 1828. It's hard to read some of the stones because they are so weathered.

The cemetery is still used for burials, and some of the granite monument-style markers date back to 1930 to the present. In 1916, the Trustees of Mt. Memorial Cemetery passed a regulation indicating that new fences or markers cannot be taller than 12 inches in an effort toward uniformity. There may be some that don't adhere to the old regulation.

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