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Bellefontaine Cemetery
DESCRIPTION: Bellefontaine Cemetery is the final resting place for some of St. Louis' most illustrious citizens including civic and corporate leaders, politicians and literary figures. The 330-acre cemetery is serene with scenic hills and many trees. The Wainwright tomb -- designed by Louis Sullivan and built by a St. Louis industrialist for his young wife -- and many other architecturally significant mausoleums and monuments are also found in the cemetery.
ADDRESS: 4947 W. Florissant Avenue, St. Louis
LOCATION: North St. Louis
PHONE NUMBER: 314-381-0750
GETTING THERE: Take I-70 west to Exit 245B (West Florissant Avenue) Proceed one-sixth of a mile to the cemetery.
HOURS: The cemetery is open 8 a.m. -5 p.m. daily. The office, where you can pick up maps and self-guided tours, is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday.
ADMISSION: Free
HIGHLIGHTS:
Here lie:
- Explorer William Clark
- American Statesman Thomas Hart Benton
- Beer king Adolphus Busch
- Bridge-builder James Eads
- Kindergarten innovator Susan Blow
- Poet Sara Teasdale.
HISTORY: Bellefontaine Cemetery had its beginnings in 1849 when a group of St. Louisans formed the Rural Cemetery Association and incorporated the 138-acre burial ground. Sometime later, the name was changed to Bellefontaine. Kevin Amsler reports in his book "Final Resting Place" that the Missouri Republican newspaper wrote: "We look forward with confidence to the day, not distant, when the people of St. Louis will point to this cemetery with the same satisfaction that Boston does to Mount Auburn." The cemetery grew faster than anticipated because of the cholera epidemic that summer when city officials passed a law requiring burials to be outside the city limits. Bellefontaine received funerals from cemeteries in the city and at the epidemic's height, it handled 30 burials a day.
WHAT'S NEARBY: Calvary Cemetery, the final resting place of many notable St. Louisans including freed slave Dred Scott, Civil War General William Tecumsah Sherman and playwright Tennessee Williams, is adjacent.
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Mike Tiemann, Superintendent, (314) 381-0750
Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com
