Highland Prairie Cemetery - Ethlyn, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 56.733 W 090° 49.036
15S E 689161 N 4312999
Near, just north, of the small village of Ethyln (population 38). Cemetery and church split by CR-854.
Waymark Code: WMZ5WJ
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 09/15/2018
Views: 2
County of cemetery: Lincoln County
Location of cemetery: Highland Prairie Rd. (CR-854), ¼ N. of MO-C, Ethlyn
Number of graves: approx. 700
Established: 1831
"Material for this booklet was gathered from various sources and since there were no records all information was given wholly from memory, therefore, some dates are approximate.
"In the summer of 1831 James SIMPSON left his home in North Carolina and started "out west" where he was told his invalid wife could regain her health. He loaded their few belongings in the covered ox wagon, making the interior as comfortable for his sick wife and four year old son as he could.
"The trail was not well marked and many weary days passed behind the slow moving oxteam. It was late autumn when he crossed the Mississippi River, possibly at St. Louis. The trail led them in the direction of Central Missouri.
"One evening, at the close of a crispy fall day, he came to a deserted trappers cabin, located near the present site of Ethlyn, Missouri and on land later owned by the CAMPBELL family. The wife was unable to go farther so the lonely cabin was made the home where she died one month later. Mr. SIMPSON then began to look for a suitable spot to bury her, and after a short stroll he discovered a sassafras grove in a small open prairie. He thought this a beautiful spot for her grave, and with his own hands he dug the first grave in what was later the Highland Prairie Cemetery, and then buried his wife.
"With his small son, he turned his steps back to his former home. A number of years later, the son, William Simpson, again took the same trail westward and found the place where his Mother was buried, and located his home near his Mother's grave.
"The land where this first grave was made in later years became the property of James DOWNING, who donated about two acres for a public burial ground. This was possibly about 1850. During this period of about twenty years the community became more thickly settled and many pioneer homes were established in a radius of a few miles.
"In 1860 land was purchased from George POLLARD upon which to build a church. The funds were provided by several denominations and the church was named Highland Prairie Union Church.
"The building was completed in 1861." ~ History of Highland Prairie Cemetery, MOWebGen, Lincoln County