12188 Old Big Bend Rd

n Kirkwood, right where Ballas, Craig and Old Big Bend Road meet, is a historic 2-acre cemetery surrounded by businesses (where one might assume parking would be). The cemetery is marked by two 4 foot brick columns connecting an iron arch adorned with the name of the cemetery. Quinette Cemetery is known as the oldest African-American cemetery west of the Mississippi River.
In 1832, James Yates was given a federal land grant for the property, and the site became a burial grounds for those enslaved there. The oldest marker dates back to 1839. The first "recorded" owner of the property, Luke Brockway, allowed those he enslaved and other families living nearby to bury their loved ones there. (During the Civil War, the area was said to have been the burial grounds for prisoners of war, although there are no records for these.) In 1866, Brockway sold the property to William Martin, Henry Nash and George Sleet for $175 to use as a cemetery for St. Louisans of African descent living within 5 miles. And in 1873 Olive Chapel AME obtained the deed and "officially" established the cemetery.
The actual number of graves is unknown. Although FindAGrave volunteers have gathered the records for at least 55, there are believed to be over 150 St. Louisans buried there. A fire at Olive Chapel destroyed the few existing plot records. With haphazard burials and vaguely marked graves, little is known today about where specific individuals rest. Over the years, numerous studies to determine where actual graves are located have been conducted using surface examinations, probing, and ground penetrating radar.
There are only a few remaining grave markers, including traditional yucca plants. Many markers are just rocks, which serve as headstones, and reveal a sometimes secret yet conscious coding system that the living enslaved community designed for their deceased. On former plantations across the country, similar grave markers have been discovered over time, offering clues to what life (and death) was like for black Americans in St. Louis during this period.
Sadly, at this time, those enslaved didn’t survive for long. Death was a hyper-present reality for the children and adults alike, whether by illness or at the hands of their owner. And when they died, African-Americans were forced to find creative ways to honor them. This was partially due to widespread white fear that any black collective coming together could be an opportunity for the group to devise an exit strategy from the plantation. Funerals necessitate that people gather for a final goodbye, so these mortuary traditions were commonly monitored and squelched by overseers.
Although it appears Mr. Brockway allowed this usage, through the use of non-traditional grave markers, black Americans found a way to take ownership over the final resting places of their kin. Quinette is a very close reminder of this history. Many burials were done without coffins, or at best with a simple pine box. Other grave markers consist of limestone slabs placed at the head, or sometimes the foot, of the grave. A recent monument to honor known US Colored Infantrymen has been placed near the entrance of the cemetery.
Olive Chapel operated the cemetery into the 1960s, but encroaching development and the church's financial position made maintaining the property difficult. In 1961, trees were cut down, and headstones were knocked over and removed by developer Robert Quivreaux to construct the commercial building next door. The last burial was in 1973, 100 years after its establishment. For the next several years, the grounds fell into further disrepair with desecrated headstones and illegal trash dumping.
In 1978, after being sited for allowing the cemetery to become a health hazard, Oak Hill petitioned to the Kirkwood City Council to sell the cemetery and move the bodies. Instead, the City Council passed an ordinance to end burials in the cemetery, and the land was sold to Edward Weinhardt, who owned an adjacent property where the Green Parrot Inn was located.
In 2002, a developer purchased the property and adjacent land. The development plan approved by the Kirkwood City Council saved the cemetery, which the developer deeded to the City of Kirkwood in 2003. Through its Landmarks Commission, the city established the Quinette Cemetery Advisory Committee. Many volunteers began restoring the cemetery.
In 2007 the Kirkwood City Council designated the cemetery as part of the Kirkwood park system, placing it under control of the Kirkwood Park Board. The Park Board, working with descendants of those buried there and other interested volunteers, has continued property restoration, adding the Veteran's Memorial area, a crushed stone pathway, wood chip trail and the entrance sign.