Discover the Past: Smith Chapel Cemetery and the Underground Railroad

Missouri was the northernmost state where slavery was legal. As such many enslaved Missourians sought their freedom both before and during the Civil War. Once the war had ended, they sought to assert their freedom and independence by forming new churches and communities, many founded by veterans of the war. One such community that was formed in St. Charles County was Smith Chapel A.M.E Church.

This is the story of a small one-acre property where three freedom seekers Benjamin  Oglesby, Martin Boyd and Smith Boyd were laid to rest. Originally used as an African  American church, schoolhouse, and cemetery, all that remains today is the cemetery with  over one-hundred ancestors of the local community who have lived here for several  generations, even prior to emancipation. The cemetery is listed on the NPS National  Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.  

Join us and local Historian and writer Dorris Keevan-Franke as we learn about this vital part of St Charles County history.