Elmwood Cemetery

Elmwood Cemetery, founded in 1872, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Kansas City. Designed by the nationally renowned George Kessler, the 43-acre graveyard is home to many famous local figures, including at least eight mayors and six congressmen, and some Civil War soldiers. You may recognize some of these figures since their names can also be seen on streets, parks, and neighborhoods across town. These include mining magnate August R. Meyer, "meat packing patriarch" Simeon Brooks Armour, and businessman Jacob L. Loose. Elmwood is also notable for being home to the oldest remaining Jewish cemetery, consisting of two acres purchased by Congregation B'nai Jehudah the same year the cemetery itself opened. The cemetery's Jewish plot provided gravesites to all Jews of Kansas City, regardless of affiliation or denomination. Thanks to the city's rapidly growing Jewish population, a new cemetery opened at 69th and Troost in 1921, but the Congregation continues to help maintain Elmwood to this day.

History of Elmwood Cemetery

Before the 19th century in the United States, it was more common for the dead to be buried in churchyards, but this became less popular as cities became more crowded. There were concerns about people's health, both physical and mental, when they lived in such close quarters with cemeteries. The results were rural cemeteries like Elmwood, built outside urban centers. Elmwood, just outside nineteenth-century city limits, was the first such cemetery built in the Kansas City area. After being designed by George Kessler, one of the nation's most prominent landscape architects, the cemetery was constructed and opened in 1872.

Elmwood ran smoothly for the next decade or so. Being the only rural cemetery in the area, it was a very popular burial site. Some might have said it was too popular. Beginning in the 1890s, a time of rapid growth for the cemetery, its owners started to have concerns about the lack of plans made for Elmwood once they couldn't maintain it anymore. "It was feared that when the last grave had been sold and the last opportunity for profit had been exhausted, a mercenary company would abandon the grounds to abuse and decay." To prevent this, a charter was granted to Elmwood under the laws of the State of Missouri, enacting provisions ensuring the cemetery is kept in good shape. This charter will be in effect until the year 2895. In honor of Elmwood's status as a permanent city fixture, Mayor Quinton Lucas recently declared October 1st Elmwood Cemetery Day.

Jewish History of Elmwood Cemetery

Congregation B'nai Jehudah's first cemetery, founded in 1866, was a small plot of land at 18th and Lydia. It was maintained by the Kansas City Hebrew Benevolent Society, which consisted of many of the same people who had organized the synagogue itself in 1870. The first person buried there was Helena Baum, a 22-year-old woman from Pleasant Hill who had tragically died in a railroad accident. Thirty-seven people were buried on this site over the next six years.

However, the cemetery soon ran low on space, and that part of town became increasingly crowded as the city grew around it. Congregational leaders soon realized they would have to move somewhere else. The same year Elmwood Cemetery opened its gates, B'nai Jehudah purchased two of its forty-three acres. While many buried here over the next forty-eight years were congregation members, Jewish people could be buried there regardless of denomination or affiliation.

Some famous Jewish figures buried here include Morris Helzberg, founder of the Helzberg Diamonds company, several relatives to Henry and Richard Bloch, founders of H&R Block, and Alfred Benjamin, namesake of the Alfred Benjamin Dispensary charity clinic. He is also memorialized with a statue in Swope Park. Many current members of B'nai Jehudah have ancestors who were buried at Elmwood. In 1921, Rose Hill Cemetery at 69th and Troost became the new burial site for the congregation, but they continue to care for Elmwood to this day.

Adler, Frank J. Roots in a Moving Stream. 1972.

Elmwood Cemetery: A Window to Kansas City's Past, KC Library. October 5th, 2010. Accessed October 28th, 2022. https://kclibrary.org/blog/featured-authors/elmwood-cemetery-window-kansas-citys-past.

Piland, Sherry. Elmwood Cemetery - National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Elmwood%20Cemetery.pdf. February 17th, 1983. Accessed October 28th, 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Elmwood%20Cemetery.pdf.