VA national cemetery
Jefferson City National Cemetery
Jefferson City, Missouri
Location
1024 E McCarty Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Visiting
- Address
- 1024 E McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101
- Phone
- 314-845-8320
- Visiting hours
- Open daily from dawn to dusk.
- Office hours
- Cemetery maintained by Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery .
- Time zone
- Central Time
- Burial space
- Closed
- Accessibility
- Not yet verified
- Official page
- cem.va.gov
Flowers and grounds policy, from the VA
Fresh cut flowers may be placed at gravesites at any time.
Artificial floral arrangements may be placed on gravesites starting the second Saturday in October through the second Sunday in April.
Fresh or artificial floral arrangements should be no taller than 24".
Floral arrangements should not completely cover the headstone or marker and should not encroach upon adjacent gravesites.
Floral items will be removed from gravesites when they become faded or unsightly.
Christmas wreaths (18" or smaller) and grave floral blankets (not to exceed 2' x 3') may be placed on gravesites beginning December 1 through January 20.
Easter, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day decorations and artificial floral arrangements may be placed the Thursday prior to the holiday and must be removed by the Sunday following the holiday.
Please do not secure floral items or other types of decorations to headstones or markers.
Permanent flower containers are not authorized.
The national cemetery will honor all Veteran gravesites prior to Memorial Day with a small U.S. flag. These flags will be removed immediately after Memorial Day.
We suggest that items placed at a gravesite be marked with the section and site number of your loved one. This is so they can be identified by the person who placed them, as well as for assisting employees in returning them to the correct gravesite if items are moved during inclement weather.
The following items are prohibited for placement at a gravesite, columbarium, or memorial wall and are subject to removal by cemetery staff:
- Alcoholic products
- Balloons, pinwheels, wind chimes, lights, candles, statues, stuffed animals, or other similar items
- Decorative and breakable glass or plastic items
- Non-government supplied floral containers (pots, planters, vases, etc.)
- Any objects that could become projectiles when caught in grounds maintenance equipment (such as rocks, coins, or other small durable objects)
- Offensive items or those deemed inconsistent with the cemetery setting
- Permanent in-ground plantings
- Weapons of any kind, explosives, or ammunition
- Any object attached to headstones, markers, or niche covers
Weapons Policy
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
General information, from the VA
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery maintains this cemetery. Please contact Jefferson Barracks at the telephone number listed above.
Directions from Nearest Airport
The cemetery is approximately five miles west of Memorial Airport. From the airport, take Highway 54 turning left (west) across the bridge to Jefferson City. Take Highway 50 exit east and travel to Clark Avenue (five traffic lights). Exit on Clark Avenue and turn left (north) at the "T" intersection with a traffic light, turn left (west) on McCarty Street. Travel one block to the cemetery on your left.
Pay your respects
Visitors to veterans’ graves sometimes leave a coin on the headstone to show that someone came. You can leave a symbolic coin here. No money is involved, and nothing about you is published. About the custom, and what each coin is said to mean.
History
Reproduced from the VA National Cemetery Administration’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026. This is the VA’s text, unedited; it is not independent research by this site.
The region around Jefferson City National Cemetery has a rich and international history. French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette first surveyed the mouth of the Missouri River in 1673. In 1682, the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, traveled down the Mississippi and claimed the extended area for France. In 1715, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac opened a lead mine in present-day Madison County, MO; Philip Renault, another Frenchman, worked the mines in this area with slaves until 1744. In the mid 18th century the first two permanent white settlements, St. Genevieve and St. Louis, were carved out of the region. Soon after 1789, the Spanish built the El Camino Real (the King's Highway) northward from New Madrid to St. Louis. It is still used today, designated as U.S. Highway 61.
In the early 1810s, Jefferson City, then known as Lohman's Landing, became an increasingly important trading post for immigrants beginning their westward journey on the Santa Fe and, later, Oregon trails. As part of a compromise plan between major population centers in the eastern and the western portions of the state, Jefferson City was chosen as the capital in 1821 and the legislature began to meet there five years later. In 1839 the site was incorporated as a city.
During the Civil War, the city's sentiments were divided between North and South. Jefferson City, however, saw little military action with one exception. On September 27, 1864, a guerrilla force commanded by William Anderson burned a train and killed 17 Union soldiers and several civilian passengers. Many of the soldiers had been wounded on the battlefield and were returning home. Later that day, a federal force followed Anderson and his men to their camp where a bloody battle took place. The Union troops were routed and forced to retreat. Almost 10 years later, the remains of the men who had died in the skirmish were reinterred in Jefferson City National Cemetery.
Burials in Jefferson City National Cemetery date to summer 1861; its original purpose was for the burial of Civil War soldiers from the surrounding area. The site of the cemetery, which local residents Israel and Mary Read sold to the government, was surveyed for classification as a national cemetery during the war. However, its official designation did not occur until 1867, after the war and approximately 350 interments were completed.
Jefferson City National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1998.
Monuments and Memorials
The 39th Regiment Monument of Centralia, MO, was erected around 1868. It commemorates members of Companies A, G and H of the 39th Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry who were killed in action at Centralia on September 27, 1864. The monument marks the trench burial of the 118 men interred there.
Notable burials and memorials
Reproduced from the VA’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026, including Medal of Honor recipients where the VA lists them. Links lead to the VA’s own records. To correct an entry, contact the VA; to tell us our copy is out of date, report it.
Nearby veterans cemeteries
Sources
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Find a Cemetery: all national cemeteries, and each cemetery’s own page. U.S. government work (public domain). Retrieved November 11, 2026. Used for: name, address, phone and burial-space status, hours, policies, history and notable burials.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Jefferson City National Cemetery (official cemetery page). Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- Map position: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. VA National Cemetery Sites (dataset).