Louis Vieux's elegant and striking tombstone towers over the rest of the markers at this tragic and historic place.
The Vieux Cemetery has several marked graves of unknown emigrants in it, who died of cholera at the Vermillion River crossing. Without family or means, Louis Vieux (who operated the lucrative and very busy Vermillion River toll crossing on the Oregon Trail) gave space in his family cemetery for them to be buried.
Here is a link to the National Register nomination form: (
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From Wikipedia, a brief biography of Louis Vieux: (
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"Louis Vieux was a prominent citizen of Louisville who operated a trail crossing across the Vermillion River. He was born in 1809 in Wisconsin and was of Pottawatomie and French descent. Vieux and his wife, Sha-Note, moved first to Cedar Bluffs, Iowa in 1832 until moving to Indianola, Kansas (northwest of Topeka along Soldier Creek) in 1846. Sha-Note died in 1857 and Vieux moved to the Vermillion River near present day Louisville. Vieux began his trail crossing business and worked as a caller for the U.S. Government working the pay station in St. Mary's and he also served on the tribal council and made trips to Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Pottawatomies. Vieux also signed the treaty that split the Pottawatomies into two separate tribes-the Prairie Band and Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Vieux died in 1872 and left behind a 200-page will leaving half the town of Louisville, all of Belvue and other personal property to his wife and children." [end]
Tragically, this cemetery was visited by vadlas who smahed and uprooted tombstones. Thankfully, the cemeteryw as restored and repaired by the Pottawatomie Co. Historical Society volunteers:
From the Topeka Capital-Journal: (
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"LOUISVILLE -- After vandals destroyed nearly 30 tombstones in the Louis Vieux Cemetery last September, many thought this historical and sacred spot would never again stand as a sentry overlooking the Kansas and Vermillion river valleys.
They were wrong.
Thanks to the Pottawatomie County Historical Preservation Society, new and reconstructed stones now stand in the cemetery marking the graves of Louis Vieux, his family and others who were laid to rest here more than a century ago. Although the limestone tombstones are new, the inscriptions are the same ones that appeared on the original stones.
The cemetery marks the final resting place of one of the area's leading entrepreneurs of the time. Vieux, born November 30, 1809, in Michigan to a French father and a Potawatomi Indian mother, came to this area 150 years ago. After building a log cabin near the ford on the Vermillion, he constructed a toll bridge to ferry the thousands of pioneers traveling the Oregon Trail across the river.
The preservation group met with Vieux family members shortly after the vandalism occurred, and Linda Tessendorf, president of the preservation group, said they indicated they would like the cemetery to be preserved, if possible.
According to Tessendorf, funds for rebuilding the tombstones came from restitution from the adult and juveniles charged with the vandalism and from donations.
"We received several donations from people who heard about it and wanted to help us restore the cemetery," Tessendorf said.
She said some donations came from as far away as Illinois, others were from Oregon Trail enthusiasts, and some came from professors at Kansas State University who bring their classes to the site for historical perspective.
Ray Morris, a member of the historic preservation society, said he thinks the family is pleased with the work the group is doing at the cemetery.
"We have more restoration work planned at the site," he said. "We get a lot of people who stop by there. Everyone is sorry the vandalism happened, but they seem glad we are getting it fixed."
The preservation group is hoping to restore the cave on the property to make it more weatherproof, then create a protected visitor registration area inside it. Tessendorf said they also plan to add more informational signs at the cemetery, including more Vieux family and Potawatomi Indian history.
The county and the preservation society are debating whether to allow the public access to the actual cemetery.
Tessendorf said they want to keep the cemetery safe from further vandalism or harm, but by locking it up to keep the public out they also would be denying access for family members who want to come back and visit the site." [end]
The most prominent tombstone here is for the namesake of the cemetery, Louis Vieux. Himself a historcal figure in his own right, his tombstone also attests to his great standing in the community.
The tombstone reads as follows:
To the memory of
LOUIS VIEUX
Died
May 3, 1872
Aged
62 yrs., 5 mos., 3 ds
Requiescat in pace -- Amen.
His worthy deeds within our hearts
Shall live beyond the tomb.
LOUIS VIEUX
On the back of the tombstone is a much longer epitaph. It has taken us 2 weeks and all the photoshop manipulation we are capable of to read this, and still the lichens have prevailed in obscuring some words. Here is the best we can do:
For many years, one of the
headmen of the Pottawatomies,
influential in their councils, just
and kind with them in his deal-
ings, he won their confidence, which
was never betrayed, and their [illeg],
[illeg] which was never despised.
His business relations with the
whites brought him into intimate
association with them, and all who
knew him respected and loved him.
A man of strict integrity, he ne-
ver forgot his words of great be-
lief [4-5 words illeg] the
[5-6 words illeg] public-spirited,
he gave largely to promote
improvement, and died loved
and [illeg] by a wide circle
of friends, embracing all classes.