Bethel United Methodist Church in Wildwood
Making disciples of Jesus * Leaving no one behind * Inviting you for the journey
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Bethel United Methodist Church in Wildwood Making disciples of Jesus * Leaving no one behind * Inviting you for the journey
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Cemetery Contact Information: President, Bethel Cemetery Committee (Sales & Marketing): George Gaehle Mailing Address: Bethel Cemetery Representative 17500 Manchester Road Wildwood, MO 63038 Phone: 314-608-4991 Maintenance: Harvey Krueger Caretakers: Bill Kesselring & Harvey Krueger
Click on this picture to see the layout of the Cemetery.
History of Bethel Cemetery “At Rest in Wildwood”, September 2005, Wildwood Historical Society
Richard Austin, a slave once owned by Mr. Frazier (then a freed slave still living with Mr. Frazier) was the first custodian of the church and was also responsible for the care of the churchyard and cemetery. Since that time a number of men have completed these chores. Most recently George Gaehle is in charge of Sales and Marketing, Harvey Krueger is in charge of Maintenance, and Bill Kesselring and Harvey Krueger are the caretakers.
In 2005 the Bethel Cemetery in Wildwood is the final resting spot for more than 2350 people. The oldest part of the cemetery is the area immediately south of the church building. This older area contains the “upright stones” and is now intended as a private burial area for Bethel church members only. The newer portion of the cemetery (to the west) contains headstones flush with the ground, which greatly simplifies maintenance.
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Several stones in Bethel Cemetery record the date of death
as 1852 and 1853, with many others added through the 1860’s, well before the
Bethel Church was built on Manchester Road. The founders of Bethel Church were
looking for a place to build a place of worship when the St. Louis Marble
Company gave two acres for a church, as well as five acres for a cemetery that
was located directly behind (south) of the church. A Quit Claim was given on
May 19, 1873 to Joel R. Frazier, Peter M. Brown, John Letcher, Thomas M. Wright
and Philander P. Lewis, trustees of Bethel Society of “the Methodist Episcopal
Church South”. The Bethel Church building was completed in 1875.
The cemetery has long been an important part of Bethel’s
service to the community. The first burial after receiving the ground was in
August 1873 of a Mr. William Atwell. Mr. McLoon, Superintendent of the Glencoe
Lime Company kilns, donated the gravel for the first drive in the cemetery. The
first road into the cemetery was to the east side of the church, just west of
the white farmhouse (which wasn’t there at that time). Raymond Wright, J. W.
Fridley, and other men with teams hauled the gravel and built the roads. Those
interred at Bethel were always placed facing east.
In 1973-74, after a long period of concern about future
maintenance and the difficulty of maintaining a cemetery by private donations,
John Oliver Bartold, Edward Schalk, and other cemetery trustees established a
“Cemetery Trust Fund” to ensure that funds for maintenance and upkeep of the
grounds would be available even after all the lots were sold. A portion of the
money (according to the Missouri State Code for Cemeteries) from the sale of
each lot goes into the trust fund, with the interest from the fund used for
maintenance.
In the Southwest corner of the Bethel Cemetery approximately
40 graves have been found without headstones. Stories have been passed down
that slaves and their families, as well as workers of the Marble Company were
buried in that area. To give respect to this area a “Garden of Remembrance” is
being built such that no structures are built on the graves and the pathways
will wind between them.
Visitors walking through Bethel Cemetery will see the
graves of Civil War veterans, whole families that became victims of the black
plague, and others who have unique epitaphs. The Trustees of Bethel strive to
keep the cemetery looking beautiful and a comfort to those who are hurting.