Withington Cemetery Gate and Stone Posts. Pauline Masson Photo. Circa 2007.
By Pauline Masson –
Two historic cemeteries on the Bill and Linda McLaren farm, where a proposed data center is under consideration, has some residents worried.
The two cemeteries were discussed last Thursday during a public meeting at the Tri-County Senior Center on the controversial data park.
Both burial grounds have huge historic significance to the area. But their future safety is built into the data park plan, Mr. McLaren said. They will not be harmed, he assured Hometown Matters. They are shown on the data park plan but are away from the construction area. If the data park is approved and built, roads will be built to the two burial grounds so they can still be visited.
I have visited both cemeteries on more than one occasion.
The two burial grounds are the Whitworth Cemetery and the Withington Cemetery (known locally as the Old St. Patrick’s log church cemetery).
The late Bobby Kommer and Janet Daniel discussed his family’s military background at Civil War in Pacific presentation in 2015. ________________________
The late Bobby Kommer, a Catawissa resident and fellow history aficionado, took me to see the Whitworth Cemetery. Mr. Kommer was a great-grandson of the Musick and Whitworth families, Confederate and Union soldiers in the Civil War who are buried in the fenced cemetery – and a history buff who had collected the military records of his relatives. He shared the huge volume with me that covered the entire surface of his dining room table.
Mr. Kommer was an eager raconteur. He told the story of the Whitworth and Musick families move to North St. Louis County in the early 1800s. They built a plantation with a grand manor house that, like ‘Tara’ in Gone with the Wind, they gave their mansion a name. When they decided to move farther west, the County bought the plantation and platted a small town. They used the plantation mansion as a city hall and named their new town after the mansion Hazelwood.
Mr. Kommer estimated there were 200 graves in the fenced cemetery on the McLaren property.. Mr. McLaren said in his youth, someone wanted to be buried there and there were no unused grave sites. He also said his family erected a new fence around the cemetery in recent years to prevent his cows from wandering among the graves.
The Withington Cemetery was located adjacent to the St. Patrick’s log church on the bank of the Meramec, deeded in June 1844 as recorded in local author Joseph McNamee’s book Pioneer Priests. The adjoining land was set aside for a cemetery and eventually enclosed with a steel fence. The only trace that remains of the fence is two impressive stone gate posts, pictured above.
St.Patrick’s Of Armagh log church remains. Joseph McNamee Photo. Circa 1930
Mr. McLaren allowed me to trek through this long abandoned cemetery and spray shaving cream on the soft eroded stones to enable me to read them. One of the graves I recall is that of Long John McNamee, one of the first permanent residents of the LaBarque community, known as Little Ireland.
One story involving the log church that stood beside this cemetery lingers in local lore.
The late Ed Phelan, Catawissa _______________________
On a 2007 visit to the cemetery the late Ed Phelan was on a tractor pulling a trailer with benches for members of the local history group, that Mr. McLaren provided. As he pulled away from the cemetery, Mr. Phelan stopped the tractor and turned to tell the visitors the story that I had already heard from his granddaughter Lynne Tobey.
During the Civil War Union soldiers were posted in Pacific to guard the railroad bridge over the Meramec River. The Phelan family hired off-duty soldiers to help with farm work. The soldiers made friends with girls who lived in Catawissa on the south side of the river. The girls invited the soldiers to a wedding at St. Patrick’s of Armagh Church when the parish was still holding Mass in the little log church on the banks of the Meramec next to the Phelan property.
As was the tradition, a special medal was baked into the wedding cake. According to legend, the individual who got the piece of cake with the medal would enjoy good luck.
Later in the war, two Union soldiers were captured by a Confederate unit and were to be executed. A young Confederate lieutenant was ordered to take the men into the woods and shoot them. The young officer asked the names of the Yankees and offered to write to their families so they would know what had happened to them.
One soldier reached into his pocket and handed the southern officer a medal and asked him to send it to his parents.
“Where did you get this?” the Confederate officer asked.
The condemned soldier said he had attended a wedding up in Catawissa and the medal was in his piece of the wedding cake.
“I was at that wedding,” the would be executioner said. He fired a couple of shots in the air and allowed the two Union soldiers to escape. The two soldiers survived the war and returned home to tell the story.
This story – believed as Gospel in Catawissa – may be too sweet to be true, but it has the feel of truth to it and illustrates the community culture that persists in the area to this day.
The two historic cemetries are shown on the proposed Beltline Energy data park plan, but they are outside the construction area, Mr. McLaren said. If the data park is built a road to the cemeteries will be constructed so they can still be visited.
Estimating 200 graves yet they are only doing 50 ft setback? You do the math….
Does anyone have info for Maria (the previous owner of Little Ireland Coffee Shop in Pacific) ??? She might be related to Long John McNamee, one of the first permanent residents of the LaBarque community, known as Little Ireland. I remember she had a book in the coffee shop which I think was about her relatives…