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Washington Park Cemetery: the History and Legacies of a Sacred Space

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Washington Park Cemetery: the History and Legacies of a Sacred Space Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Winter 12-2018 Washington Park Cemetery: The History and Legacies of a Sacred Space Terri Williams Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the Other American Studies Commons, and the Other History Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Terri, "Washington Park Cemetery: The History and Legacies of a Sacred Space" (2018). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1678. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1678 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of American Cultural Studies Washington Park Cemetery: The History and Legacies of a Sacred Space By Terri Williams A thesis presented to The Graduate School of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts December 2018 St. Louis, Missouri © 2018, Terri Williams Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: WPC is Sacred ............................................................................................................... 3 1.1 The Evolution of African American Burial Grounds................................................……4 1.2 WPC and Christianity................................................................................................……7 1.3 Honoring Those We Love.........................................................................................……9 Chapter 2: The History of WPC.....................................................................................................11 2.1 The Establishment of WPC.....................................................................................……13 2.2 Mark Twain Expressway.........................................................................................…….18 2.3 The 1972 Lambert Airport Scandal.........................................................................….....20 2.3 WPC Mismanagement Under Virginia Younger…………………...………………..…….23 2.4 Lambert and the Metro-Link............................................................................................26 2.5 Ronald Kuper, Kevin Bailey, and Today.........................................................................32 Chapter 3: Buried Legacies............................................................................................................40 3.1 Highlighted Biographies..........................................................................................…....42 3.1.1 Jasper C. Caston…...................................................................................................…...42 3.1.2 George L. Vaughn….......................................................................................................45 3.3.3 Preston Myree.........................................................................................................…....48 3.3.4 Ira L. Cooper…...............................................................................................................50 3.3.5 Joseph E. Mitchell...........................................................................................................53 3.4 Veterans.......................................................................................................................................56 3.5 Heritage.......................................................................................................................................59 Epilogue........................................................................................................................................62 References/Bibliography/Works Cited..........................................................................................65 ii List of Figures Figure Intro.1: View of I-70 from WPC ......................................................................................... 1 Figure 1.1: Headstone Covered in Grass ........................................................................................ 3 Figure 1.2: Cemetery Sign .............................................................................................................. 6 Figure 1.3: Cross-shaped Headstone ............................................................................................... 8 Figure 2.1: Advertisement for WPC ............................................................................................. 13 Figure 2.2: Automobile Road Map from 1921… ......................................................................... 15 Figure 2.3: 1955 WPC Map .......................................................................................................... 18 Figure 2.4: Expressway Newspaper Advertisement. .................................................................... 20 Figure 2.5: WPC and Lambert Acquisition… .............................................................................. 22 Figure 2.6: Map of WPC, Metro-Link, and Lambert ................................................................... 26 Figure 2.8: Figure Billboard… ..................................................................................................... 35 Figure 3.1: Broken Headstone ....................................................................................................... 41 Figure 3.2: Jasper Caston Photo......................................................................................................42 Figure 3.3: Caston Gravesite… ..................................................................................................... 44 Figure 3.4: Caston Burial Card ...................................................................................................... 44 Figure 3.5: George Vaughn Photo ................................................................................................. 46 Figure 3.6: Vaughn Gravesite.........................................................................................................47 Figure 3.7: Vaughn Burial Card ..................................................................................................... 47 Figure 3.8: Preston Myree Photo… ............................................................................................... 48 Figure 3.9: Myree Gravesite. ......................................................................................................... 49 Figure 3.10: Ira Cooper Photo........................................................................................................50 iii Figure 3.11: Ira Cooper Family Plot ............................................................................................. 52 Figure 3.12: Ira Cooper Burial Card ............................................................................................. 52 Figure 3.13: Joseph E. Mitchell Photo...........................................................................................53 Figure 3.14: Joseph Mitchell Burial Card ..................................................................................... 55 Figure 3.15: Front Page of Argus ............................................................................................... ..55 Figure 3.16: Vaughn Military Registration Card… ...................................................................... 56 Figure 3.17: Fallen Military Headstone ........................................................................................ 57 Figure 3.18: Military Headstone Application ............................................................................... 58 Figure 3.19: Lee Wright Jr. Gravesite ........................................................................................... 58 Figure 3.20: Volunteer Freddie Jefferson ..................................................................................... 59 Figure 3.21: Ada Harris Gravesite ................................................................................................ 60 Figure Epilogue 1: Broken Headstone at WPC… ........................................................................ 62 iv Acknowledgments I have been blessed to complete this thesis under an amazing supervising committee. To my mentor and friend, Professor Denise Ward- Brown, thank you for inspiring me to always ask the hard questions and get accurate answers. Dr. William Tate, thank you for your positive influence in my academic career. To Michael Allen, you have always been a knowledgeable resource for me. I am forever grateful to this committee for supporting me through this process. I owe an insurmountable
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