Tag Archives: Network to Freedom

FILM PREMIERE

Join us on August 23, 2025 in Oglesby Park, 2801 W. Meyer Road, (St. Charles County Parks) in Foristell, from 6pm til Sunset as we Premiere their documentary called BURIED HISTORY, UNCOVERED STORIES. The public is invited, this event is being held by those working on the cemetery, who wants to share the story with everyone. The screening will be outdoors in the pavilion at the back of the Park near the Douglass Schoolhouse.

Student Recognition Day

In Foristell, Missouri, the Smith Chapel Cemetery, was begun by nine Trustees for the Smith Chapel AME Church established in 1871, was listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2024. Now, students from St. Charles Community College, studying with Professor Grace Wade Moser are working to uncover the history of this small African American cemetery in western St. Charles County.

Smith Chapel Cemetery

In 1871, several freedom seekers who had fought in the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War had returned home. These resilient men, would pool their funds, and establish an African Methodist Episcopal Chapel, with a Circuit rider preacher, that spread the gospel between St. Charles and Jonesburg at that time, and name it Smith Chapel at Snow Hill.

History of the Cemetery

Established in 1871, Smith Chapel Cemetery is an African American burying ground established by nine formerly enslaved individuals in St. Charles County Missouri. At least three men were freedom seekers, and members of the Smith Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church associated with this graveyard. The cemetery is final resting place for Smith Ball (1833-1912), BenjaminContinue reading “History of the Cemetery”