A bit north of East 23rd Street, between Cleveland Avenue and Jackson Avenue, hosting a fantastic view of the skyline, stands one of the oldest cemeteries in Kansas City, dedicated in 1877.
The original 40-acre tract of land was purchased in 1873 by Father Donnelly, resident pastor of the St John Francis Regis Catholic Church (later Church of the Immaculate Conception), who indicated a cost at the time of $8,175 in “principal, interest, taxes, fencing and roadmaking.”
The cemetery hosts the remains of those originally interred at St Francis Regis Cemetery, many of the pioneers and founders, some rather notable and notorious figures from the history of the city, and 45,000 others of the Catholic faith that contributed to building and growth of Kansas City.
Among the notable Kansas City pioneers found at this cemetery are Pierre and Eleanor La Liberte were the original land owners of much of what is now downtown Kansas City; they conveyed the original land on which the Church of the Immaculate Conception now stands. Gabriel Prudhomme, a fur-trader and landowner, owned the land purchased for development of the City. He died in a bar fight in 1831, and was originally interred at St John Francis Regis Cemetery, but his remains were not moved to Mount St Mary’s Cemetery when they were discovered in 1985.
Doctor Benoist Troost was one of the original investors that purchased the land from Gabriel Prudhomme; a Dutch-born doctor/investor, he was also involved in Kansas City’s first newspaper, and the Kansas City, Hannibal & St Joseph Railroad Company. While it is not the final resting place of the infamous Francois Chouteau, considered to be the Founding Father of Kansas City for his efforts to be the first to locate and maintain a trading post in the area, many of his children and grandchildren are interred at this location.
Other points of interest include the grave of J Pino Fournaise, who died in 1871 at the age of 124. Can you believe that? Most of the influential Jarboe family is also there; the first telegram ever sent from Kansas City was to Father Donnelly, summoning him to the death bed of 28 year old Lydia Ann Jarboe.
The first police officer and firefighter to die in the line of duty rest in Mount St. Mary’s, as does William Grooms, the Kansas City police officer killed during the Union Station Massacre in 1933. Ragtime band leader and composer Edward Harry Kelly, north side prohibition boss “Brother” Johnny Lazia, as well as 1960s and 1970s mafia crime boss, Nicholas Civella, and of course, Father Donnelly, who was first buried in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, then later moved to Priest Circle in 1927.
Unfortunately, the years have not been kind to this cemetery. As the surrounding neighborhood began to decay during the 1970s, the ignorant and disrespectful took the opportunity to topple, destroy or otherwise deface many of the sculptures and monuments. The Church and volunteers have made an effort to restore and repair some of them, but others are lost forever.
Further Reading …
