Old Town Couple Received a Late Summer Scare

By Nichole Richardson

On a late summer day this year, Cody Miller and his girlfriend, Lauren Merz, decided to do a typical late summer project: landscaping.
Miller wanted to put in edging but first had to remove the old paving blocks that were in the way. He started with the largest stone, and once broken into five pieces, quickly discovered this wasn’t such a typical landscaping project after all.
To the couple’s surprise, the “paving blocks” of their walkway were actually tombstones belonging to some of Florissant’s earliest residents, circa 1800s.
“They had dirt and grass on top of them and they were facedown so I didn’t even know they were there,” marveled Miller.
The largest of the tombstones, he estimated to be four to five feet tall and a half foot thick of Limestone. “It was so big I thought it was like the top of a septic tank or something,” said Miller.
When pieced back together, the epitaph read, “Sacred to the memory of Michael Connor, Native of Wexford Ireland, Who departed this life Aug. 2nd 1822 aged 74 years, Also Ann Murphy Consol of Michael Connor, Who departed this life Aug. 31st 1822 aged 64 years. May their souls Rest in Peace, amen.”
The next day the couple uncovered seven or eight more stones quite a bit smaller, but nonetheless, still grave markers.
Luckily, Miller and Merz arn’t as superstitious as some, and quickly adapted to their new circumstances. Lauren suggested they contact Historic Florissant, Inc. to see what more they could find out about these peculiar headstones.
“ That [first] night I couldn’t sleep…Every little noise,” Miller recalled.
“I really wanted to make sure my house wasn’t built on a graveyard,” Miller laughed. “I needed answers, ya know?”
Miller went to see Gina Siebe, president of Historic Florissant, Inc. “It was great! She showed me around the Gittemeier House and some old historical maps of my house before,” said Miller. With a little research, Historic Florissant, Inc. identified the tombstones as belonging in the old St. Ferdinand Cemetery (Spanish Land Grant Park) with the remains of those identified most likely still interned at the same.
This ex-burial ground sits on the west side of St. Ferdinand Street near the Florissant Valley Fire Department and was known as Florissant’s first cemetery in 1825.
The graveyard was declared an unmaintained nuisance and City Council ordered all bodies removed before March 18, 1900. Rosemary Davison writes in her book, “Florissant, Missouri, 2002” :
“Convinced that all bodies had been removed from the old cemetery, the parish brought in bulldozers in 1958 to level the lot for a soccer field and uncovered row after row of caskets. While quickly covered when the spring rains came, the caskets were again exposed and topsoil was brought in to cover them.
“Now the property of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, numerous requests were made by the Florissant City Council, Park Board, Historical Society, and the Florissant Valley Reporter to improve the lot. In 1964 a request was made for permission to erect a common marker for those lying in unmarked graves. Nothing happened until 1967 when St. Louis County widened Graham-St. Ferdinand Street and once again caskets were uncovered.
“This time those uncovered were quickly removed and reburied in Sacred Heart Cemetery. In 1976 since the Archdiocese still refused to acknowledge the block as a cemetery, St. Louis County and the City of Florissant under the Bicentennial Program were able to purchase the ground for a passive park called Spanish Land Grant Park.”
No one knows for sure just how those tombstones got into Miller and Merz’s yard; possibly by descendants or the general public, but the couple sure is happy they did.
“I learned a lot about Florissant and the history of it…it blew my mind how rich the history of it is,” said Miller. Cody and Lauren plan to donate the stones to Historic Florissant, Inc. who intend to create a display at Spanish Land Grant Park. Thanks to Gina Siebe & Historic Florissant, Inc. for contributing to the historical information from Rosemary Davison’s book.      Photo Captions: Lauren Merz and her dog, Olive, together with Cody Miller and his dog, Zeppelin, pose for a photo next to the tombstones they unearthed in their backyard in Florissant; Stones used as paving blocks for a walkway are actually pieces of tombstones.

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