Greenwood Cemetery
Photo added by Connie Nisinger

Greenwood Cemetery

Hillsdale, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

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Greenwood Cemetery was organized in 1874 to serve the needs of the growing black population of post-civil war St. Louis and St. Louis County. It was the first commercial non-sectarian cemetery for African Americans in the St Louis metropolitan area. More than 50,000 Africans Americans are buried within Greenwood's 31.85 acres. Greenwood Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 26, 2004.


In the 1980s and 90s, the cemetery fell into disrepair and was quickly overgrown by invasive plants like honeysuckle and wintercreeper. 


In 2016, Raphael Morris co-founded the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association and it has since taken ownership of the Cemetery. Morris, who is now president of the association, his wife Shelley and a small group worked to restore the land.


Over time, many larger organizations also got involved, including the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Botanical Garden and Forest ReLeaf. 


In 2024 Greenwood Cemetery celebrated its 150th anniversary with its first gala at the Missouri History Museum. Greenwood has gone through a major transformation in recent years.



This cemetery is set up with burial location based on death date (not based on typical family groupings or plots).

Greenwood Cemetery was organized in 1874 to serve the needs of the growing black population of post-civil war St. Louis and St. Louis County. It was the first commercial non-sectarian cemetery for African Americans in the St Louis metropolitan area. More than 50,000 Africans Americans are buried within Greenwood's 31.85 acres. Greenwood Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 26, 2004.


In the 1980s and 90s, the cemetery fell into disrepair and was quickly overgrown by invasive plants like honeysuckle and wintercreeper. 


In 2016, Raphael Morris co-founded the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association and it has since taken ownership of the Cemetery. Morris, who is now president of the association, his wife Shelley and a small group worked to restore the land.


Over time, many larger organizations also got involved, including the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Botanical Garden and Forest ReLeaf. 


In 2024 Greenwood Cemetery celebrated its 150th anniversary with its first gala at the Missouri History Museum. Greenwood has gone through a major transformation in recent years.



This cemetery is set up with burial location based on death date (not based on typical family groupings or plots).

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