Highland Cemetery – Jackson County – United States

Highland Cemetery is located at 12100 Blue Ridge Boulevard in Blue Summit, an unincorporated area of Jackson County, Missouri. Established in 1909, it was created as a privately owned cemetery for Kansas City’s African American community during an era of segregated burial practices; Sallie Powell was the first recorded burial, on June 15, 1909. The cemetery was platted into twelve blocks and contains more than 11,200 graves dating from 1909 through 1950. ([mostateparks.com](https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Blue%20Ridge%20Blvd%20Survey.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Documented burials include educators, entrepreneurs, clergy, civil-rights activists, physicians, publishers and jazz singer Julia Lee, including Richard Thomas Coles, Nelson C. Crews, Chester Arthur Franklin and Reverend Daniel Arthur “Fighting Parson” Holmes. ([mostateparks.com](https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Blue%20Ridge%20Blvd%20Survey.pdf?utm_source=openai)) Highland is recognized in the state’s historic-resources survey for its significance in African American ethnic heritage, social history and landscape architecture. The property has been held by the Jackson County Land Trust since 2010, and recent reporting indicates that it no longer accepts new burials and has no regular official visiting hours. ([kansascity.com](https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article299065835.html?utm_source=openai)) Burial and family-history research may require consulting preserved cemetery records and local archival resources.