Mt. Memorial Cemetery (The Old Graveyard)

Clay County's first established cemetery in 1836, Mt. Memorial Cemetery, on the campus of William Jewell College, serves as the final resting place of many of Liberty's and Clay County's original settlers and founders. Originally known as "The Old Graveyard," burials on the grounds pre-date the cemetery's formal opening, dating back to around 1819 when a man, his Native American wife, and their infant daughter used the land as a family burial ground. The graveyard provides a glimpse into the area's history, from its settlement and westward expansion to the Civil War and late nineteenth-century commercial development well into the twentieth century.

The first European settlers in Missouri were primarily French Canadian fur trappers and traders, first near St. Louis and then west towards the Missouri River; early settlers established alliances with Native Americans. One trapper, Delaney Bowlin, built a cabin in 1808 near modern-day William Jewell College. In 1811, the U.S. Congress issued warrants to unsettled land (including Northwest Missouri) to victims of the New Madrid earthquake in southeast Missouri. In 1812, Congress gave land as payment to volunteer soldiers for the War against the British. White settlers arrived in the area in greater numbers after the 1808 and 1825 Osage Treaties (two of several treaties and land cessions the Osage made with the U.S. during the first half of the nineteenth century), which removed the Osage Nation from the area. Existing as the western edge of the frontier, the region's cheap land and abundant natural resources proved appealing; numerous people came from such locations as the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Bowlin sold his cabin and property to Cyrus Curtis, who established thriving trading companies along the Missouri River in the settlements that evolved into Kansas City and Liberty in the 1820s. In 1821, The U.S. granted Missouri statehood, and the population of northwest Missouri had grown to 1,200; the establishment of Clay County occurred in 1822.

Also, in 1822, Clay County commissioners established Liberty as its county seat of justice; the first school opened in Liberty that same year. Until 1826, the new town supported about seventy-five citizens and a dozen log cabins. The establishment of Fort Leavenworth in 1827 provided a market for Liberty merchants, traders, and farmers, while those stationed at the fort visited Liberty for its shopping, entertainment, and education. Like the rest of Clay County and Northwest Missouri, many settlers migrated to Liberty from the American South, many of whom owned slaves and embraced Southern culture.

On July 5, 1836, when Liberty supported a population of 700, trustees for the Town of Liberty purchased a one-and-a-half acre plot of land to use as a graveyard; three of the trustees were buried in the cemetery. The land had already served as a burial site before the land purchase, used by Cyrus Curtis, who owned a cabin at the location. Curtis' infant daughter and Native American wife are believed to be the first buried at this site in 1819.

Mt. Memorial acts as the final resting place for Liberty's most prominent early settlers and their families, including the city's first mayor, Madison Miller (d.1871), who came to Liberty from Virginia. 

Other notable burials include: 

• Michael Arthur (d.1884), who moved to Clay County from Kentucky in 1825, worked as a banker, helped organize and manage the Liberty Insurance company, built the first railroad between Hannibal and St. Joseph, and invested substantially towards constructing Liberty's first hotel in 1855 (Arthur House Hotel). Arthur also served as president of the Pro-Slavery Aid Association, providing Kansas aid to advance its pro-slavery cause.

• Greenup Bird (d. 1882) came to Liberty from Glasgow, Kentucky. He built the Clay County Savings Association in 1859 and acted as the bank's president. He and his son, William Bird, a clerk, worked at the bank on February 13, 1866, when the first successful daylight bank robbery took place, which, as legend has it, was perpetrated by the [Jesse] James-Younger Gang (although historians debate the accuracy of that claim). 

• Edward M. Samuel was a charter member of the Board of Trustees of William Jewell College and its first elected treasurer from 1851-1864. He also worked as president of the Liberty branch of Farmer's Bank of Missouri from 1857 to 1865. 

• Frank Hughes (d. 1937), a local businessman and philanthropist, bequest $57,000 for a trust fund and a lot to build a public library; The historic Frank Hughes Memorial Library opened as Liberty's first public library.

• Soldiers connected to The Battle of Blue Mills Landing (Civil War): On September 17, 1861, just south of Liberty, near the Missouri River, Union forces unsuccessfully attempted to prevent pro-Confederate Missouri State Guards from crossing the river. The hour-long battle resulted in 126 casualties (fifty-six Union troops and seventy Missouri Guard members), twenty-five of which are buried at Mt. Memorial; another six veterans who survived the battle were later buried in the cemetery. 

Union troops also used the cemetery for target practice in the summer of 1862 when they established a headquarters and barracks at Jewell Hall; several tombstones still offer evidence of the target practice. 

The cemetery went by the name "Old Graveyard" until 1916, about the time renovations to the grounds took place. The cemetery committee considered several names before deciding on Mt. Memorial In October 1916. Despite the growth of Liberty and the broader Kansas City metro region (and William Jewell College), the graveyard has remained in continuous use since the 1820s, providing a window into the entire history of Liberty since White settlers displaced Native Americans in the region. 

Fischer, William. "'The Old Graveyard' 'Mt. Memorial Cemetery'" The Historical Marker Database. April 28, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=68263. 

"History of 'The Old Graveyard' - Mt. Memorial Cemetery." Liberty, Missouri. libertymissouri.gov. Accessed February 7, 2023. https://www.libertymissouri.gov/2113/Mt-Memorial-Cemetery-History.

Kansas Historical Society. "Osage - Treaties With the United States." Kansapedia. April 2021. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/osage-treaties-with-the-united-states/19293.

Wensel, Jonna. "Registration Form: Mt. Memorial Cemetery." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 2012. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Mt.%20Memorial%20Cemetery.pdf.