Bellefontaine Cemetery is just north of St. Louis in Florissant. Missouri and totally worth a side trip if you’re headed that way.
In a previous post, I focused on statues of women in mourning at Bellefontaine. Just gorgeous.
Can you imagine visiting these two memorials when they were new and even more lifelike? I’ll come back to Bellefontaine. There are some spectacular buildings here too.
These big welcoming gateways are a familiar sight in the rural Midwest.
Cemeteries plopped right down on the side of the road or in the middle of a cow pasture need eye-catching signs to attract visitors.
This is a pretty one near Rolla, Missouri
I wonder if there’s a cemetery gateway company that does all of these. Or used to anyway. I’ve never seen one that looked brand new.
Perrin Cemetery, Missouri
I don’t think they’re just a Missouri thing. Has anybody seen them in other parts of the country?
Fairview Cemetery near St. Joseph, Missouri
Goat Bluff is near Hot Springs, Arkansas
Okay, who wouldn’t slam on the breaks and turn down this road?
What a great road!
There are a million Fairview, and Woodlawn and Mount Olivet cemeteries. How many times do you see a great name like Goat Bluff? This well-kept little gem was worth the trek too.
Sway Back Cemetery is near Paola, Kansas
Here are a couple more I couldn’t pass by.
This cemetery is one of my favorites outside Kearney, Missouri.
Have you seen more cemeteries with distinctive names? Let me know.
Unknown Soldier, National Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri
Columbarium wall, Port Angeles, Washington
Woodlawn Cemetery, Independence, Missouri
Crowley Cemetery, Clay County, Missouri
Bellefontaine Cemetery, Florissant, Missouri
You’ve seen the statues… wings, solemn indifferent faces, flowing gowns. They’re beautiful, for sure, but I love finding human figures like these in Bellefontaine Cemetery in Florissant.
Maysie Walker Pittman, Bellefontaine Cemetery
Maysie stands calmly beside her own grave. She’s at ground level, life sized. You feel like you could walk up and put your arm around her shoulder. No towering plinth keepering her out of reach.
Gorgeous detail here.
The woman who mourns the Hobbs family, Bellefontaine Cemetery.
The poses and gowns are similar, but here the wife mourns her fallen husband. This widow made sure her husband was never left alone.
Another lady companion.
Companions like these aren’t as common as angels, so I love finding them. One of my absolute favorites sits in a little cemetery in Kansas, called Antioch Pioneer. Check it out.
Where’s your favorite?
I Dig Graves! 