Fresh Finds Walking Tour at the Historic Bellefontaine Cemetery

Bellefontaine Cemetery is hosting a Fresh Finds walking tour on Friday, October 16, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. It's a two-hour walk led by the Bellefontaine Cemetery Association's Chronicler, who'll be guiding the group through the cemetery's history, architecture, and iconography. The tour starts at the Willow Gate House, so that's where you'll want to meet up.

If you've spent any time around the grounds, you know Bellefontaine is more than just a place to visit family. It was founded in 1849 by a group of the city's prominent men, and Almerin Hotchkiss—an associate of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York's Central Park—was hired to lay out the grounds. Hotchkiss became friends with Henry Shaw, and together they helped the cemetery grow one of the finest tree collections in the St. Louis area. Beyond the landscape, the site is known for its cemetery architecture and art, and as the final resting place of figures like Adolphus Busch of Anheuser-Busch, explorer William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and engineer James Eads, who designed the St. Louis Eads Bridge.

The cemetery is open daily from 8 AM to 5 PM, with extended summer hours, and runs walking, trolley, and themed tours throughout the year. This particular walk is led by the Chronicler and runs rain or shine, so it'll happen regardless of the weather. The tour is free, though donations are appreciated. It runs from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM on Friday, October 16, starting at the Willow Gate House at 4927 West Florissant Ave.