Lynne Jackson set up a GoFundMe three years ago, seeking to raise money to install a memorial at Calvary Cemetery in north St. Louis. That's where Scott was buried in 1867, after being moved from his original, unmarked grave near what's today Saint Louis University.
But despite launching a petition for his freedom that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and (despite Scott's loss, in 1857) hastened the onset of the Civil War, Scott's marker at Calvary is a simple one — just two and a half feet high, and rather difficult to find. As Jackson told St. Louis on the Air in 2020, although Tennessee Williams and William Tecumseh Sherman are both buried at Calvary, Scott's is "the most asked-for grave out there."
FLICKR/MICHAEL NOIROT
Dred Scott's current grave, at Calvary Cemetery, is a simple affair — but, as the coins on top indicate — it draws plenty of visitors.
Jackson and the Dred Scott Foundation are inviting the public to a dedication on Saturday, September 30, at 11 a.m.
"While we are most thankful for the headstone that has lain there since 1957, all are excited about the opportunity for this to be a most worthy destination for those who travel from near and far to honor and learn of our beloved Mr. Scott. The writings on the monument, we believe, will truly inspire and delight those who make the pilgrimage," Jackson wrote in a letter to donors yesterday.
The GoFundMe alone brought in $25,324 for the monument.
Previously, the foundation partnered on a project to bring a statue of Scott and his wife, Harriet Robinson Scott, to downtown St. Louis. Their statue was unveiled in June 2012 at the Old Courthouse.
FLICKR/PAUL SABLEMAN
A statue of Dred Scott and Harriet Robinson Scott stands outside the old courthouse in downtown St. Louis.
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