Save the date for our 2026 event: Saturday, October 24, 2026

Come explore Missouri's oldest cemetery and experience the stories of early pioneers of Ste. Genevieve by lantern light. Although close to Halloween, the intent of the Spirit Reunion is not to be scary, but rather educational, as you'll see local people in period costume standing near their final resting place and talking about their lives, loves, and perhaps how they died. Past participants include Missouri's Model Senator and his wife who was buried twice, and the reason why. There's an aristocrat who fled the French Revolution, and another killed in a politically motivated street fight, a priest, known as the "Patriot Priest", Missouri's first United States representative, a Civil War colonel killed at the Battle of Shiloh, the daughter of a Spanish era Commandant, the first Commandant appointed by the Americans after the Louisiana Purchase transfer, victims of a steamboat explosion, a child whose life was cut short by cholera, plus Mississippi River trappers, traders, and Native Americans. From stories about life along the Mississippi and early exploration, to agricultural and domestic customs of early Ste. Genevieve, come learn and be entertained at the same time. Please note that guests will walk throughout the cemetery and will encounter uneven ground with very limited benches/seating available. Guests are asked to refrain from sitting on any gravestones.

Photo by Ralph Baker.

Photo by Brian McCutchen.

Photo by Ralph Baker.

Photo by Ralph Baker.

Déjà vu Spirit Reunion

Hear the stories of those buried in Missouri's oldest cemetery