Union Cemetery in Midtown Kansas City was established over 160 years ago and it's the final resting place for members of some of Kansas City's founding families.
Some say there may also be a ghost or two roaming around.
Kansas City, first known by the name of Kansas, was a stopping point for travelers headed west.
Rapid growth and the cholera epidemic of 1849 meant cemeteries in Kansas and the separate town of Westport were running out of space. So in 1857, many were reburied in the current location on 28th Terrace.
The two communities joining together led to the naming: Union Cemetery.
Heather Faries, vice president of its historical society, says there's a section of the cemetery known as "Founders Row."
"John Calvin McCoy, we have the Campbells, we have George Caleb Bingham, we have Dr. Lykins, some of the McGees, Alexander Majors," Faries said.
Majors was a co-founder of the Pony Express and was one of the first millionaires, in Westport, if not the first.
As many as 55,000 were laid to rest in Union Cemetery, but that number may not tell the entire story. A fire broke out in the Sexton's Cottage in 1889, many records were destroyed.
Not all of those buried there wish to go quietly into that good night — the tombstone of Frank Barnum reads "Murdered in Brownsville, Missouri, Oct. 6, 1876." The mystery of his death was never solved.
Kansas City historian Diane Euston says Barnum's wife didn't want to let go.
"Frank Barnum was a spiritualist so he believed in seances and so people say there are spirits that lurk around that grave, and his wife Martha, after he died she was conjuring his spirit up," Euston said.
Then there's the story of a young woman named Libby Mavis, reported to be a prostitute. Grave robbers are said to have dug up her remains, with Libby's spirit visiting her madam in a dream saying her eternal rest had been disturbed.
Union Cemetery is operated by the Kansas City Parks Department and the Union Cemetery Historical society. Visitors are welcome.
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Uniquely Kansas City is a partnership between KSHB 41 News and retired Kansas City journalist Bill Grady, highlighting the historical stories that makes the Kansas City area truly unique through audio and digital storytelling. Is there a piece of Kansas City history you'd like us to share? Send us an email at desk@kshb.com.
