Ste. Genevieve Township in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Weeping Tree

Legends and Lore

Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025

1. Weeping Tree Marker

Inscription.
A cherry tree keeping vigil over Senator Lewis Linn's grave wept when his body was moved in 1905. His body was returned here in 1938.

Erected 2021 by William G. Pomeroy Foundation, Missouri Folk Arts Program. (Marker Number 115.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Horticulture & Forestry. In addition, it is included in the Historic Trees, and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation Legends & Lore Series series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1905.

Location. 37° 58.773′ N, 90° 2.975′ W. Marker is in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in Ste. Genevieve County. It is in Ste. Genevieve Township. It is on North 5th Street north of Merchant Street, on the left when traveling north. The marker is next to the Senator Linn's burial site at Ste. Genevieve Memorial Cemetery it is a short distance to the north of the cemetery entrance. Both can be viewed along the sidewalk of 5th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 35 N 5th St, Sainte Genevieve MO 63670, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Missouri. It is also in the American Ozarks,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Memorial Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); In Memory of Prospect K. Robbins, 1782-1847 (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to Sainte Genevieve Parish (approx. 0.2 miles away); Revolutionary War Patriots

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(approx. 0.2 miles away); Ste. Genevieve Bicentennial Time Capsule (approx. 0.2 miles away); In Honor of Milice de Ste. Genevieve (approx. 0.2 miles away); El Camino Real (approx. 0.2 miles away); Liver Dumplings (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ste. Genevieve.

More about this marker. Persons visiting should be advised that vehicle access is not available into the cemetery. Parking along 5th Street is limited due to private residents.

Also see . . .
1. Lewis F. Linn (1795–1843) (Missouri Encyclopedia). Overview:

A frontier doctor, Jacksonian Democrat, and US senator, Lewis F. Linn has been called both “Missouri’s model senator” and the “Father of Oregon.” At the time of his death the St. Louis Missouri Reporter editorialized, “No man in Missouri ever commanded more general and sincere respect . . . [nor] possessed a more wide-spread or deserved popularity.”

(Submitted on July 10, 2025.)

2. Weeping Tree (William G. Pomeroy Foundation). Excerpt:

When it was decided that a figure of Senator Linn’s stature deserved a statelier cemetery, the cherry tree that had shaded his overgrown gravesite for the past sixty years shed tears of grief. From the moment
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025

2. Weeping Tree Marker and Senator Linn's obelisk
Picture taken along the fence from Fifth Street.
the disinterment began, the cherry tree dripped large beads of grief, first on the workmen digging up Senator Linn’s coffin, and then day and night upon the sacred ground where Senator Linn had formerly been laid to rest. Local residents had no explanation except the tree’s affection for the beloved Senator Linn. The loyal companion had been but a sapling when Senator Linn was first buried and had grown into a majestic cherry tree while standing vigil over Senator Linn’s tomb the past sixty years.

Decades later, in 1938, Memorial Cemetery was restored, and Senator Linn’s body was reinterred in his original gravesite under the cherry tree.

(Submitted on July 10, 2025.)

Memorial Cemetery entrance from 5th Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025

3. Memorial Cemetery entrance from 5th Street

Vehicle access is not available to the cemetery. Parking along the fence on 5th Street is limited to due private residents.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 9, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 165 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 9, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.