CHURCHYARD HISTORY
Early in its history, St. Paul decided to prepare a fitting resting place for its beloved dead. The first cemetery consecrated in 1856 was situated on Gravois and Wilmington Road. When it became necessary to expand, a second plot between Gravois and Kingshighway was established in 1893 at a cost of $20,000. When in 1926 the city denied the privilege of further sale of lots due to the city’s rapid expansion, and when it became apparent that both Gravois and Kingshighway would be widened and paved at considerable expense to adjacent property owners, the congregation decided to abandon the old sites, purchase new acreage in St. Louis County, and move the graves and markers to the new site. A 125-acre tract on Rock Hill Road (part of the historic Ulysses S. Grant Farm, Whitehaven) was purchased for approximately $75,000. About 50 acres of this was surveyed, laid out in sections, and consecrated for burial purposes. The site was beautifully landscaped, water lines were laid, hard surfaced roads were constructed and a perpetual fund of $34,000 had been set up in the course of years. Several years later two stone entries and an office were built. A 5-acre tract across the road (7600 Rock Hill Road) was purchased and a house on it improved to serve as the cemetery superintendent’s home. In 1947 the undeveloped portion, consisting of 70 acres, was sold at a price of $91,000. $50,000 of this sum was set aside to be added to the existing perpetual fund of $34,000. The charter under which the cemetery has operated since 1926 and the perpetual care fund provide that this burial ground shall never be neglected.
St. Paul Evangelical and Reformed Church 100th Anniversary Booklet, 1948