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Highland Cemetery Preservation

Highland Cemetery Preservation Group

After years of neglect, disrepair and negative publicity concerning Highland Cemetery, several groups of Kansas Citians rooted in the Music and Jazz Community created the momentum to establish the HIGHLAND CEMETERY PRESERVATION GROUP. This group has been inspired and energized by a sense of community and pride in the history of Kansas City.

The Highland Cemetery Preservation Group with the support of community leaders, local businesses, students from Academie LaFayette, Goin' To Kansas City Jazz, Inc, Jazz Alive, Elder Statesman of KC Jazz, CODA Jazz Fund and the 31 W 31 NonProfit Village kicked off African American History Month February 1, 2018 with a renewed effort to preserve the cemetery.

Currently, Jackson County Land Trust holds title to the cemetery due to the prior owners failure to pay back taxes. Subsequently, the care and maintenance of the cemetery are currently the responsibility of the Land Trust. Unfortunately, The Land Trust was never envisioned, nor equipped, to operate or maintain a cemetery.

The Cemetery isn't a perpetual care cemetery or the beneficiary of an endowment for funding. Unfortunately, the Land Trust budget doesn't include funding for maintenance of the cemetery either. This dilemma has resulted in expenses being paid by an already tight county budget.

Originally, the approximately 29 acres of land that became Highland Cemetery in 1909 was originally platted into 12 blocks and was envisioned to hold 25,000 graves consisting of the remains of many prominent citizens. It is unclear how many burial plots were actually platted when the cemetery was opened.

Some of those laid to rest at Highland Cemetery include: Benjamin "Bennie" Moten (Jazz Musician), Julia Lee (Jazz Musician), Dr Thomas Unthink (Co-Founder Douglas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas), Josephine Silone Yates (Second President of the National Association of Colored Women), Frederica Douglas Perry (Granddaughter of abolitionist, Frederick Douglas), Nelson C. Crews (Owner of the Kansas City Sun Newspaper), Walter Lee "Newt" Joseph (Negro League Manager & Kansas City Monarch Player), Buffalo Soldiers, Veterans of the Army, Navy, & Marines, Physicians, Nurses, Masonic Order members, and the Founders of several churches and congregations throughout Kansas City.

The Highland Cemetery Preservation Group has several goals:
(1) verify cemetery boundaries by hiring a professional survey company
(2) verify liens and ownership by hiring a title company to research property
(3) storage and digitize cemetery records
(4) recruit volunteers to assist with project
(5) research possible financial assistance to preserve cemetery
(6) market property to find a new owner
(7) assist with the transition to a new ownership group
(8) fundraising to help facilitate project

In the end, our group hopes to provide the proper resting place the souls laid to rest at Highland Cemetery deserve while providing another "Crown Jewell" of Kansas City's history. WE HOPE YOU WILL GET INVOLVED AND HELP WITH THIS FABULOUS PROJECT.

HighlandCemeteryPreservationGroup.org

https://GoFundMe.com/highland-cemetery-preservation

We would like to thank our many supporters some of which are listed below:
-Buttonwood Financial Group
-Midwest Afro-American Genealogical Interest Coalition (MAGIC)
-Union Hill Cemetery Historical Society
-United Missouri Bank
-Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center
-31 W 31 Non Profit Village
-BHC Rhodes (Civil Engineering, Surveying, Utilities)
-K & K Catering
-Elder Statesmen of Kansas City Jazz

Donations 

  • ELIZABETH BEUHRING
    • $20 
    • 4 yrs

Organizer

Jennifer Randall-Enderson
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
Goin To Kansas City Jazz (Jazz Legends Commemorated)
 
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.

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