• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pickem Terms and Conditions
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem!
    • Login / Sign-up
    • Results by Week
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem!
    • Login / Sign-up
    • Results by Week
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish
No Result
View All Result
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
No Result
View All Result

Unmarked graves found in old Parkville cemetery

Valerie Verkamp by Valerie Verkamp
May 23, 2017
in Parkville
12
SHARES
291
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

Using ground penetrating radar, experts hope to identify roughly 100 unmarked graves in the Old Parkville Cemetery.

A team of geologists, historians and archivists began the painstaking process of scouring four-acres of land in the old cemetery on Monday May 15.

RelatedNews

Criminal probe underway at Parkville City Hall

REAL ID enforcement pushed back to 2023

A business boom in downtown Parkville

Old Parkville Cemetery is located on the west side of Highway 9 between downtown Parkville and Riss Lake.

Keith Seramur, a geoarchaeologist, used radar to scan every foot of land up to 40 times.

“The radar goes down and looks for reflections across the grid. We collect these little lines of data and then put into the model,” said Seramur.

The radar depicts where the earth has been disturbed, not necessarily graves or remains, officials said.

The data generates a two-dimensional image that corresponds with what may lie beneath. Covering about a 40-foot grid, dozens of white flags were placed in the soil, representing a potential corner of an unmarked grave. “Most of the burials are between two to three feet deep and the widths are fairly typical,” said Seramur.

From names found in obituaries published in old newspapers to recovered death certificates, historians say anywhere from 50-100 souls absent of any grave marking have been traced back to the Old Parkville Cemetery.

Carolyn Elwess, an archivist at Park University, said a few of the buried souls were prominent members of the fur trade on the Missouri River. Jim Kipp, whose name is synonymous with two fur-trading companies, was buried in 1880 at the age of 92. His son, Samuel Kipp, was buried nearby.

But there is no account for another local legendary inhabitant. Spencer Cave, a jack-of-all-trades whom the university named black history month after, was born a slave during the Civil War. In 1875, he moved to Parkville and began working for the university, where he was employed for more than 70 years. Experts say he was buried in 1947.

Many people buried there between 1840-1970 worked at Park University, including about 125 African-Americans.

Scott Hageman, assistant dean of natural and applied sciences at Park University, said he would like to honor those early Parkville settlers with an accented marker or memorial.

“It just breaks your heart to realize that there are over 100 people buried here that nobody can track,” said Professor Hageman.

Among the sporadic horizontal limestone markings and poison ivy laced peonies, a beaten walking path running across the backside of the cemetery perhaps contains numerous unmarked graves. Should experts discover unmarked graves in this carved out section, the walking path would be relocated, says Hageman. It is typical to stumble upon the gravesites of indigent or unknown residents on the backside of cemeteries. Gravestones identifying babies succumbed to colic or other disease epidemics of the 1850’s are loosely identified as “baby,” he said.

Hageman said he will not collect DNA from any of the remains buried in the integrated cemetery. Aside from the last burial in the late 1990’s, most bodies have disintegrated over the years, leaving no trace behind.

Still, university officials believe recording unmarked graves to honor those pioneers who were buried long ago is important to preserving the history of Parkville.

Elwess said the investigation of unmarked graves has shined more attention on this local link to the past than it has received in decades.

Even city officials at one time appeared to have forgotten about the mere existence of this little city of the dead.

“The city didn’t realize the cemetery had never been closed,” said Hageman. “Anyone could have requested to be buried at the Old Parkville Cemetery at the cost of $4.”

It was a graduate civic engagement class taught by Professor Becky Studiville that uncovered the information. Their report has redirected much attention to the city-owned cemetery. From tending to the neglected ground conditions to recovering toppled gravestones, the city has acted in response to the students’ initiative.

Elwess said she is thankful for those students and looks forward to having a complete map of the historic cemetery by the middle of July.

?Keith Seramur with machine finding indications of where the earth has been moved.

Tags: parkvilleplatte county
Valerie Verkamp

Valerie Verkamp

Valerie decided she wanted to be a newspaper reporter when she was 28 years old and she successfully convinced the editor of the Platte County Landmark to give it 30 days. Now with The Landmark for over a decade, she has written countless stories on local government, education, lawsuits, community news, crime, and the prison system. Valerie hails from Park University with a BA in Elementary Education and a post-baccalaureate degree in paralegal studies from Penn Valley Community College. She has received honorable mention for Best Government News Story and joined her Landmark colleagues as recipient of the General Excellence Award in the Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Missouri Press Association.

Related Posts

45 Years Ago–May 13, 1977

by Ivan Foley
May 13, 2022
0

Dr. Carl Myers purchase the Platte Medical Clinic in Platte City this week and plans to open his office here in the near future. Dr. Nourbaksh will continue to be located in the Platte Medical Clinic. Mr. and Mrs. Louis...

30 Years Ago–May 15, 1992

by Ivan Foley
May 13, 2022
0

Bob Foster, vice principal of Fort Osage Junior High in northeast Independence, has been hired as principal at West Platte High School in Weston. Two girls tied with the same grade point average have been declared valedictorians of the class...

15 Years Ago–May 9, 2007

by Ivan Foley
May 13, 2022
0

It has been a hectic week for Platte County residents and business owners with property in low-lying areas, as heavy rains across the region have forced rivers and streams out of their banks. Areas in and around Parkville, Riverside, Tracy...

The 80's

Kim Carnes and never buy gas on Tuesdays

by Ivan Foley
May 13, 2022
0

Gonna hit you with some pop culture stuff this week. Just because I want to. Season four of Ozark on Netflix. Have you finished it yet? Let's get through this without spoiling it for those who haven't made it all...

Next Post

Apex Plaza development gets final approval

Popular News

  • Area distillery releases first new bourbon in 30 years

    Area distillery releases first new bourbon in 30 years

    21 shares
    Share 8 Tweet 5
  • Large logistics park planned east of I-29

    198 shares
    Share 79 Tweet 50
  • Bee Creek Bridge replacement set

    8 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 2
  • Memorial Day Weekend Celebration planned

    7 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 2
  • City extends lease on temporary police station

    6 shares
    Share 2 Tweet 2
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pickem Terms and Conditions
Call us at 816-858-0363

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Online
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem
    • Results by Week
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?