Date: June 27, 2001
Cemetery: Old Canton Cemetery
Established: 1830's
Street: Culver Stockton College Campus
Type: Road-private
City: Adjacent to Canton
Township: unknown but probably Canton City
County: Lewis
State: MO
Nation: USA
Zip:
Nearby: Athletic fields on campus
Location: Urban-developed
Land: Flat
Watersource: No
Features: At present this is under construction as a football practice field
Sign: No
Land_Type: Private
Access: Open
Enclosure: None
Gate: None
Status: Abandoned
Size: Small
Gravestones: None can be located now
Oldest: 1830's
Newest: 1869
Unmarked: No
Broken: No
Toppled: No
Buried: Yes
Removed: Yes
Weather_problems: No
Pollution_problems: No
Association: No
Records: Unsure
Inventory: Yes
Records_location: Such records as are available are Located at the Lewis Couty
Historical Society in Canton.
Condition: Cemetery destroyed
Vandalized: Yes
Police_report: No
VA: Gravestones-Overturned
VA: Gravestones-Broken
VA: Gravestones-Stolen
Overgrowth: None
Drainage: Good
Restoration: The current status of this cemetery is:
Owner: Private
Use: Recreational
Bordering: Educational
Change: Smaller
Reason: Educational
Visited: Rarely
Archeology: No
Contacted: Culver Stockton College-Dr. Edwin Strong, President
Other_Information
This cemetery once belonged to the Christian Church. In about
1875, Culver Stockton College, which is affiliated with the Christian Church, acquired the
land from the church and burials ceased for the most part. This was not a perpetual care
cemetery. There is conflicting evidence as to whether or not remains were moved in 1875.
It is certain that stones were moved to Forrest Grove Cemetery in Canton as the official
plat book of the cemetery shows this and the stones can be physically located in the
oldest part of the cemetery. In the early 1960s an inventory was taken and fewer than a
dozen stones remained in the old cemetery at that time; including those of my 2nd great
grandparents. For a long time there was one large memorial surrounded by eight small
stones located on what by then was the third hole of the colleges golf course. About 1987,
during construction on campus the small stones were removed to a ravine and only the large
marker remained. Two years ago or so the large marker was removed as well and is now
located behind a building on the college campus. The ravine holding the smaller stones has
been partially covered over or covered with over 20 feet of fill depending on which of two
ravines held these stones. At this time, other than the one large memorial stone which is
not located at the cemetery site and those stones which were moved circa 1875 there is no
evidence that this cemetery ever existed. In fact, the site can be located only in the
most general way even by people who knew where it was. The site is now occupied by
athletic fields. The good news is that Culver Stockton College has now begun to look for
the missing stones and has agreed to design and create a memorial on campus using the
large memorial stone and including a plaque which will tell the story of the cemetery and
record the names of those who are known to have been buried there. Family members are
satisfied that all that can be done is now being done to make the best of this unfortunate
situation and the current administration
Support
At this time unless someone has specific information to offer the
only helpful contact will be to give an indication of support for the efforts to create a
new memorial on campus. Dr. Edwin Strong and his staff should be commended for their
committment to do the right thing. For this purpose, email messages may be sent to
estrong@culver.edu.
Update -
JAN. 20,2004
As of this date
this situation has not been resolved. President
Strong has since resigned and a new President
has been hired. There has not been any
corepondence with the College to this date. Have
tried to contact the new President but so far
have been able to. My hope is that we can get
this resolved as soon as possible.
Submitted by:
name: Jack Howell
Email: JackBSA@aol.com
