New Santa Fe Cemetery
About the Cemetery
The town of New Santa Fe stood at the junction of the Santa Fe Trail and State Line Road, now southwest Kansas City. The little village had great historical significance in the development of
western commerce in the 19th century.
New Santa Fe was a little post village situated on the west line of Missouri, about midway in Washington Township. The village developed about the farm of John Bartleston, who erected a
cabin in the forest along the Santa Fe Trail in 1833 and subsisted on hominy and potatoes. Within a few years, a community known as Little Santa Fe developed. As it was located a day's
trip from Independence, wagon caravans laden with merchandise for the Mexican and California trade would stop here before pushing westward.
In 1851, Dabney Lipscomb and his wife, Elizabeth W. Lipscomb, laid out the town. Little Santa Fe was incorporated as New Santa Fe on October 5th, 1851. Located on the line between a free and a slave State, it suffered from the Border War of 1855-60, the Civil War, and the depredations of the bands of outlaws who came after the war. Finally, the isolation of the village
from the railroad reduced it to little more than an historic site. (1941 Missouri: A Guide to the"Show Me" State, Missouri State Highway Department)
Ownership
The property making up the current cemetery was deeded by Dabney Lipscomb to the Santa Fe Christian Church in 1881 and remained church property for almost 100 years. In 1975, the
church transferred ownership to the New Santa Fe Cemetery Association. The Association, along with the New Santa Fe Historical Society was instrumental in preventing the construction of a
shopping center on adjacent property in 1977. The area surrounding the cemetery was eventually
developed as residential.
The Association originally was composed of relatives of those buried in the cemetery. In recent
years, many of those persons have moved on and the Association has been made up mostly of
neighbors of the cemetery. It is not affiliated with the Historical Society of New Santa Fe,
although the society has been supportive, financially and otherwise, since 1977.
Current Situation
The New Santa Fe Cemetery Association is a nonprofit Missouri corporation whose sole purpose
is the management and preservation of the cemetery property. The cemetery is not actively used.
The Association is responsible for allocating the few remaining gravesites that are available. The
Association has no regular source of income. Neighbors and relatives of persons buried in the
cemetery provide funds for the maintenance.
For information about the cemetery or to make a contribution toward its upkeep, contact Leroy
Eddy, 12220 Belleview Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64145, or [email protected].
View New Santa Fe cemetery index and photos at the Digital Cemetery.