members or donated by visitors to Union Cemetery. Cemetery. Union to visitors by donated or members cal information collected over the years by UCHS UCHS by years the over collected information cal - biographi and genealogical of wealth a provide tage, - cot Sexton’s the at located files, burial cemetery’s The online at Amazon.com. at online A Walking Tour Walking A available for sale at the cemetery’s Sexton’s cottage or or cottage Sexton’s cemetery’s the at sale for available welcome addition to any library or coffee table is is table coffee or library any to addition welcome of the cemetery provided by Bruce Mathews. This This Mathews. Bruce by provided cemetery the of of Kansas City’s notable citizens and beautiful images images beautiful and citizens notable City’s Kansas of information about Union Cemetery written by many many by written Cemetery Union about information den of Time,” containing entertaining and historical historical and entertaining containing Time,” of den - Gar the from Future for Lessons Cemetery, Union In 2014 the UCHS published “Kansas City’s Historic Historic City’s “Kansas published UCHS the 2014 In an individual buried in Union Cemetery. Union in buried individual an obituaries and/or death notices are the only record of of record only the are notices death and/or obituaries lected from old newspapers. In many cases these these cases many In newspapers. old from lected in historic Union Cemetery. Union historic in containing obituaries and biographical sketches col sketches biographical and obituaries containing - Thank you for visiting. And thank you for your interest interest your for you thank And visiting. for you Thank The UCHS also published a series of ten pamphlets pamphlets ten of series a published also UCHS The etery Historical Society Kansas City. Kansas Society Historical etery researching their genealogy. their researching - Cem Union for Search Facebook. on also is UCHS This book has become a vital tool for those who are are who those for tool vital a become has book This donate button on our website, www.uchskc.org. The The www.uchskc.org. website, our on button donate including birth and death dates and burial locations. locations. burial and dates death and birth including UCHS. You will find a membership application and and application membership a find will You UCHS. statistics of many of those who rest in the cemetery, cemetery, the in rest who those of many of statistics consider becoming a member and/or donating to the the to donating and/or member a becoming consider in the title, the hardbound book lists names and and names lists book hardbound the title, the in serve Union Cemetery for future generations please please generations future for Cemetery Union serve published Tombstone Inscriptions in 1986. As stated stated As 1986. in Inscriptions Tombstone published - pre and protect society the help to like would you buried there. As a result of those efforts, the society society the efforts, those of result a As there. buried The UCHS is a 501c3 membership organization. If If organization. membership 501c3 a is UCHS The Union Cemetery and to gather data about the people people the about data gather to and Cemetery Union projects. other and grounds the of much original mission was to collect data about historic historic about data collect to was mission original sections of the cemetery being re-set, surveying of of surveying re-set, being cemetery the of sections City, Missouri Parks and Recreation Department. Its Its Department. Recreation and Parks Missouri City, HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL walkway being installed, small headstones in several several in headstones small installed, being walkway organized in 1984 under the guidance of the Kansas Kansas the of guidance the under 1984 in organized etery which have resulted in a Memorial Garden with with Garden Memorial a in resulted have which etery The Union Cemetery Historical Society (UCHS) was was (UCHS) Society Historical Cemetery Union The CEMETERY - Cem Union in projects Scout Eagle hosted also has HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL and re-set monuments and plant trees. The society society The trees. plant and monuments re-set and UNION repair grounds, the around fence iron wrought a erect CEMETERY protect Union Cemetery by collecting funds to help help to funds collecting by Cemetery Union protect and Recreation Department, helping to preserve and and preserve to helping Department, Recreation and The UCHS has become a true partner with the Parks Parks the with partner true a become has UCHS The ABOUT THE UNION UNION THE ABOUT Over the years the society’s mission has expanded. expanded. has mission society’s the years the Over deeded the remaining 27 acres to Kansas City in A BRIEF HISTORY 1937. The Parks and Recreation department now WHY CARE ABOUT OF UNION CEMETERY maintains the grounds. UNION CEMETERY? In August 1889, cemetery records were lost when In the early 1850s, the towns of Westport and Buried in Union Cemetery are some of the most the sexton’s cottage caught fire. This was a ma- Kansas found themselves in a quandary. The colorful and dynamic characters in this area’s his- jor loss because many of the graves were identi- cholera epidemic of 1849 filled the cemeteries of tory. These men and women not only influenced fied by wooden or limestone markers that were both communities. With expanding boundaries the future of Kansas City but helped to forge the destroyed by weather, leaving hundreds of un- and increasing populations, city leaders started western expansion of the United States. marked and undocumented graves. The sexton’s looking for more burial space. In 1857, their cottage was burned again on Halloween night search ended when James M. Hunter deeded 49 Missouri’s most famous 19th century artist, 1985. This time, the cemetery records were kept acres to the Union Cemetery Association. The George Caleb Bingham, is buried in Union Ceme- off site, so none were destroyed. The cottage was corporation was organized by a special act of the tery. When he died in 1879, he shocked everyone rebuilt by the Women in Construction of Kansas Missouri General Assembly on Nov. 9, 1857. The by leaving instructions that his body be buried City and rededicated in October 1990. new cemetery was located between Westport and facing south. The custom was to be buried facing the town of Kansas and was to be used by both east, the direction from which Christ would come towns, becoming a “union” between the two. on Judgment Day. Bingham told everyone that That is how Union Cemetery got its name. the Lord would find him no matter which way he faced. When Union Cemetery was dedicated, it was thought that the 49 acres would accommodate all Alexander Majors was an active partner in Russell, New members and volunteers are always wel- the deceased in Westport and Kansas City for all Majors and Waddell. In 1857, the freighting firm come! If you can donate time, resources, or time. Little did city leaders suspect that Westport made Kansas City its headquarters, and Majors provide financial assistance - please call (816) and Kansas City would become one community was in charge of hauling merchandise and leading 472-4990. and that Union Cemetery would lie in the midst settlers across the prairie. The company’s biggest of a busy metropolitan area. claim to fame was the Pony Express, which was Union Cemetery Historical Society started during the Civil War. Its purpose was to get 227 East 28th Terrace By 1910, Union Cemetery was showing increasing mail to the West and back quickly. The venture Kansas City, Mo. 64108 (816) 472-4990 • www.uchskc.com signs of deterioration. To raise funds for mainte- lasted only 18 months and cost all three men their nance, the Cemetery Association sold 18 acres at fortunes. After the disappointment of the Pony Ex- Cemetary hours: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 27th and Main streets. It was later discovered that press, Alexander Majors moved to Nebraska, and Monday through Saturday several members of the association had formed made and lost another fortune. He returned to Closed Sundays the Evergreen Land Company and had sold the Kansas City and died, penniless, on Jan. 13, 1900. Society hours: Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m and by appointment land to themselves, which they later squandered in several land deals. The cemetery association A 501C3 organization There are few places in Kansas City so rich in the city’s He was a city council member and acting mayor in 1863. He early-day history as Union Cemetery. On May 19, represented Missouri at the Vienna Exposition in 1873. 1857, James M. Hunter deeded to the Union Cemetery Association 49 acres of land to be used as a cemetery. The 12. JOHN CAMPBELL was born in Ireland and originally location was, at that time, halfway between the township emigrated to St. Louis. He outfitted John Fremont’s “path of Westport and the town of Kansas, hence the name finding” expedition in 1844 and accompanied Fremont “Union.” When the cemetery was established, its 49 part of the way. He was a member of Laclede’s Rangers in acres were expected to provide the burial space for both the Mexican War, and after the war, undertook a trading communities for all time. expedition on the Missouri River to Montana. Campbell was one of the 14 original purchasers of the 257-acre Prudhomme Approximately 55,000 lie buried here. Artists, statesmen, estate, the original town site of Kansas City. He platted missionaries, traders, explorers, farmers, pioneer women “John Campbell’s First Addition,” one of the first housing and veterans from the Revolution to the Vietnam War rest developments in the city.