Riverside Cemetery’s road rebuilding project complete

This sharpe curve represents the obstacles of maintaining the entrance road to Riverside Cemetery. Work to asphalt the steep and winding road leading into the cemetery was completed on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. The cemetery, located off of Missouri 79 near Lover’s Leap, dates back to the post-Civil War years. Photo by James Youse.

MARY LOU  MONTGOMERY

Nearly a year ago, when Hannibal’s post-Civil War era Riverside Cemetery was - after heavy rains - accessible only to foot traffic or to those with access to four-wheel drive vehicles, a group of concerned citizens gathered together to come up with a solution.

The cemetery’s funds were rapidly dwindling, due to a low number of revenue-generating burials, combined with escalating seasonal mowing costs.

Recognizing the cemetery’s historical significance, a reorganized board was formed, led by James and Linda Youse. Along with a core group of community leaders, the new board stepped forward to establish maintenance goals as well as to consider revenue-generating options.

On Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, a much-anticipated milestone was accomplished: The road leading into the cemetery is once again accessible to vehicular traffic.

Don Martin Construction Company was selected to complete the road rebuilding project, which consisted of an underlayment of large rock, then smaller-size rock, topped by three inches of asphalt.

“Trey Martin, one of sons, was excellent in communication,” Youse said, and offered “options I hadn’t thought about.

“They did beyond my expectations,” Youse said. “They even did a couple of things we didn’t ask them to do.”

This is the first time in the cemetery’s 158 (+/-) year history that the entrance has been anything but gravel. “And gravel works if it never rains,” Youse said.

Preliminary tasks

Before work could start on the steep and winding cemetery entrance, a number of tasks needed to be accomplished.

First, the slope going up the hill had to be excavated, “to recreate a ditch that had filled in over the years.” Youse said.

“Martins excavated the ditch, then we needed to have a boom mower to clean the slope off.

“The Marion County Highway Department out of Palmyra has a big boom mower, a big brush hog attached to a tractor, with an elongated arm that can be tilted and turned,” Youse said. “It is the only one in the area. We talked to Mike Schaefer about what he thought they could do to help, and they did more than we asked them to do. They were just helpful, above and beyond.”

Road surface

The new asphalt surface is about one-third of a mile, “it goes off to where the road branches off to the left or right,” Youse said.

Dorothy Dexheimer, board member, and Youse walked the road on Monday, after the five-day project was completed. “It looks really good,” Youse said.

Money matters

The total cost of the project was about $39,000.

“In our total account, between fundraising efforts and donations, and money on hand, we had $52,000,” Youse said, leaving enough to pay the mowing bills for the foreseeable future.

The next goal, now that the critical road project is complete, will be to plan future fund raisers in order to re-establish the cemetery’s financial stability.

“Now that we have the road restored, we can go ahead with future projects,” Youse said.

One goal is to “revitalize the loop road that heads (north) toward Lover’s Leap,” he said.

Community effort

It took so many people, to a small or large degree, to get this done,” Youse said.

“There was so much involved in repaving this hillside.”

The first obstacle was raising money for the project. 

Raising funds

The George H. Riedel Foundation stepped forward at the beginning of the project, offering a matching grant to the newly reorganized cemetery board. If they could raise $10,000, the Foundation would match that amount. 

The Hannibal Arts Council then offered to dedicate their end-of-the-year jazz concert proceeds to give the fund drive a boost. Those proceeds along with donations both small and large, helped the cemetery board reach its goal by the end of 2024.

The Cruikshank family (some of J.J. Cruikshank Jr.’s descendants) visited Hannibal during 2024, and at the time noted how horrible the road to the cemetery was, Youse said. When approached about the fund drive, the family members made a contribution.

“We had someone out of California send a check for $100; they saw the article in the Courier-Post. Things like that really matter.

“So many people - to small degree or large a degree,” pitched in to “get this done,” Youse said.

But there is still work to be done.

“On Oct. 9, the Board of Public Works will do a tree trimming/evaluation, they can do brush and some of the smaller trees. They will spend all day up there.

“We also have some huge trees that are going to require a professional company to come in and take them down,” he said.

Reece Coulter, a retired civil engineer, offered helpful consultation during the project’s planning phase.

“A slope on that hill of at least 45 degrees, water and speed. I learned a lot from Reese Coulter, about what water can do. It presents a real challenge,” Youse said.

“Hopefully the new road will hold up.  I think it will service really well for a good number of years.”

An interesting sidebar to the road project was the location of two concrete catch basins, which had been installed sometime during the cemetery’s past.

“Two have now been uncovered and are helping with the water diversion,” Youse said.

There may be a third catch basin at the top of the hill, which has yet to be located.

“My focus has been on the road,” Youse said. “I can check that off; now on to trees and the loop road.”

Donations

Anyone who would like to make a contribution to the Riverside Cemetery Association  is asked to send a check to: P.O. Box 332, Hannibal, Mo. 63401.

Don Martin Construction Co., equipment lines the newly paved entrance road to Riverside Cemetery. The work took about five days to complete. Photo by James Youse.