The entrance to the cemetery is located on West Florissant Avenue. The cemetery is open from 8am to 4pm -- don't get locked in! If you get lost in the cemetery, follow the white-lined roads back to the entrance. The starting coordinate is for "The Suffragette" waypoint.
The following are some cemetery etiquette guidelines that Bellefontaine Cemetery wants everyone to be aware of and follow.
. This is an active cemetery; avoid disturbing a gravesite or chapel service and family members that are visiting their loved ones.
. Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
. Pets are welcomed but must be on a leash.
. Firearms are prohibited with the exception of the Military Honor Guard and re-enactors.
. Visitors and lot owners are requested to leave comments and inquiries at the cemetery office.
. Soliciting within the cemetery is prohibited.
. Groups of 10 or more must register at the cemetery office before proceeding onto the grounds.
. Keep conversation volumes low. Be respectful. Other people in the cemetery may be upset and want a tranquil place in which to mourn and to be alone in peace.
. Keep contact to gravestones to a minimum. Do not sit on any monuments. They are meaningful to the families who placed them there. Rubbings are prohibited.
. Do not take photographs of other people or funeral activities in the cemetery. Restrict your photography to scenes of landscape, nature, and architectural elements.
. Use common sense when walking off of the roadways. Walk between the headstones and do not stand on a burial place.
. The cemetery hours are 8am to 4pm everyday. If you do not leave the cemetery by 4pm, the gates will be locked and you will have to call the security number on the gate and have them let you out. Please do not let this happen.
N 38 41.571, W 90 13.975
The Suffragette
St. Louis was a hotbed of the women's suffrage movement and, as a result of local efforts, Missouri had some of the most liberal laws for women of any state in the nation. Virginia Minor, a leader in the national suffrage movement, sued the St. Louis election commissioners for refusing her the right to vote. The suit was brought to the Supreme Court of the United States and, although she lost the legal battle, the publicity helped to speed the cause of suffrage for women. Her likeness is on permanent display in the Hall of Famous Missourians in the Missouri State Capitol.
To find the value for A, face Virginia Minor's monument so that you can see the two numbered tour markers. Now turn around and cross the street. There is a tree along the street with a plaque attached to it. What type of tree is it?
If it is an American Magnolia, then A = 4.
If it is a Black Oak, then A = 5.
If it is a Flowering Crabapple, then A = 6.
N 38 41.395, W 90 13.967
The Madam with a Heart of Gold
As a St. Louis madam during the Civil War years, Eliza Haycraft had a very lucrative business. At a time when women had few opportunities to earn money, she was a successful businesswoman and was among the city's wealthiest citizens, male or female. Towards the end of her life, she wanted to be buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, where most of her important clients rested. Despite her wealth and a history of giving generously to Civil War widows and orphans, she was refused a burial plot. After some pressure was applied by the madam's representative (blackmail, anyone?), the trustees reluctantly sold her a large plot on the condition that no tombstone or marker of any kind be placed on the lot. Although she rests alone in the 21-grave plot, efforts are currently under way to provide her with a suitable marker.
B = 31 minus this plot’s Civil War tour number.
N 38 41.257, W 90 13.645
The Girl in the Shadow Box
During a trip to Italy in the early 1900s, Herman Luyties, owner of the first proprietary drug store in St. Louis, met a voluptuous model who worked for an Italian sculptor. He fell in love with her and proposed, but she declined. What exactly he proposed, we can only imagine -- after all, there was already a Mrs. Luyties at the time. Heartbroken, Herman commissioned the sculptor to render a 12-foot marble statue of his beloved. The statue was shipped to St. Louis, where he kept it in the foyer of his Portland Place home. The several-ton statue didn't sit well in the foyer (and probably not with Mrs. Luyties, either). In time, Herman moved the statue to the family burial plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery. When the weather began to deteriorate the marble, he enclosed her in a glass-fronted case. Luyties died at age 50 and was buried at the foot of “the girl in the shadow box.”
To find the value for C, locate the water spigot along the road in front of this sculpture. What is stamped on the side of the spigot?
If it is a hummingbird, then C = 9.
If it is the word “Rainbird,” then C = 1.
If it is the words “Total Eclipse,” then C = 6.
N 38 41.385, W 90 13.483
The Lavender Lady
The Lemp brewery was rocked in the years before the World War by the very public battles between William Lemp, Jr. and Lillian (Handlan) Lemp, the "Lavender Lady," during their scandalous divorce trial and subsequent custody disputes. Lillian's nickname was derived from her habit of frequently dressing in her favorite color, and going so far as to have her carriage horse's harness dyed lavender. Lillian charged that her husband drank to excess, and kept company with other women. William countered that, in addition to "the excessive wearing of the color lavender to attract attention," his wife had been seen drinking and smoking in public. A divorce was granted in large part based on the testimony of a servant who claimed that she had found feminine hairs of various colors in William's bathroom while Mrs. Lemp was away. The former Mr. and Mrs. Lemp both rest eternally inside the Lemp mausoleum.
D = The number of floral medallions immediately above the rear window on the outside of the Lemp mausoleum.
N 38 41.640, W 90 13.627
The St. Louis Beauty
Regarded at the time as the most beautiful woman in St. Louis, Kate Brewington Bennett died suddenly at the age of 37. Her very white complexion had been the envy of many. An autopsy revealed that she had been taking small doses of arsenic to retain her desired paleness, not realizing that arsenic was a cumulative poison. Her husband, one of Bellefontaine’s original trustees, erected an elaborate Gothic canopy of white marble, once considered the finest memorial in the cemetery.
To find the value for E, locate the openings on the sides of this monument that resemble lit candles. The number of candles on one side of the monument = E.
To locate the final, insert your answers in the following formula, where F = C - D:
N 38 41.ABC
W 90 13.DEF
GEOCACHING BONUS
Meet Jordan Nash at N 38° 41.619 W 90° 13.682. Jordan is the son of our Missouri Reviewer Glenn and Joanne Nash. Jordan's memorial has a tracking number engraved near the bottom of his stone. You can discover this trackable number on Geocaching.com. Please do not post a picture or copy the tracking number. The family would like only people visiting the site to get the number.
Thanks to Dan Fuller of Bellefontaine Cemetery for permission to place this cache and for providing most of the information presented here, and to the St. Louis Area Geocachers Association (SLAGA) for sponsoring this cache.
This cache is sponsored by
SLAGA:
