The Father Dickson Cemetery is one of the earliest public cemeteries for Black people in St. Louis and holds more than 120 years of history dating back to the early 1900’s. This page is created as an evolving online resource to celebrate its historical legacy.
Father Dickson Cemetery Brochure
National Park Service video providing a brief history of the Cemetery..
Cemetery Advertisement Timeline Project
Interactive cemetery advertisement timeline referencing historical newspaper advertisements for Father Dickson and Greenwood cemeteries from 1877 through 1980.
Project created by and presented courtesy of Michael Redmond
Link to the Missouri Death Certificates Online Database 1910-1973
St. Louis County Library PastPorts March 2022 Edition featuring an article on Historic African American Cemeteries of St. Louis: Father Dickson Cemetery
Father Dickson Cemetery Walking Tour & Map
Webster-Kirkwood Times Article “Graveyards Are For The Living, Are They Not?” from July 31 – August 6, 1992
Newspaper articles on the dedication ceremony for the Vashon family memorial held on July 29th, 2023.
St. Louis Call Article – Vashon family memorial dedicated at Father Dickson
Paul Thornell, great-great grandson of George Boyer Vashon and Susan Vashon; his children, Nolan and Lena Thornell; and Calvin Riley, director of the George B. Vashon History Museum, unveiled the new Vashon family monument at Father Dickson Cemetery in Crestwood July 29, pictured above. Photo from the St. Louis Call by Ellie Marshall.
Webster-Kirkwood Times – New Vashon Family Monument At Father Dickson Cemetery in the Webster-Kirkwood Times
Article by by Sim Khanuja. Photo courtesy of Friends of Father Dickson Cemetery.
Booklet from the Vashon Monument Dedication Ceremony
Missouri History Museum Link
Learn about the Vashon family—George B. Vashon, John Vashon, and Susan Vashon—and their contributions to Black history in St. Louis in this STL History Minute
FATHER DICKSON CEMETERY 