Sappington Negro Cemetery

Sappington Negro Cemetery. . Oral tradition says that prior to 1856, Dr. John Sappington, pioneer Arrow Rock physician, gave approximately two acres of land to Emanuel Banks, a long time and highly regarded servant, to be used as a cemetery. , Since the mid-nineteenth century over 350 Arrow Rock citizens of African American descent and their descendants have been interred in this cemetery, known as the Sappington Negro Cemetery. Among the notable local citizens interred here are members of the Banks, Brown, Bush, Harvey, Parker, Switzler and Williams families. , Working initially as slaves, and later as free men and women, many of the se family members and others worked as domestic servants, farm laborers, and skilled craftsmen of various trades. They helped to build the historic community of Arrow Rock and made major contributions to the history of this area.