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Governor
Daniel Dunklin's Grave
In July
1822, a group of delegates from Washington County met at Dunklin's Tavern
and nominated Dunklin to run for representative to the state legislature.
Dunklin was elected and served in the legislature from 1822 to 1823.
Following his term, he spent the next four years in Potosi, living off
profitable investments in the mines. He returned to politics in 1828 and was
lieutenant governor. In 1832, Dunklin secured the Democratic gubernatorial
nomination and was elected Missouri's fifth governor. While Dunklin was
governor, the Platte Purchase added additional land to northwestern
Missouri. During
his tenure, construction plans for a state penitentiary were approved, the
state debt was reduced, and nine new counties were formed. Dunklin is often
called the father of Missouri's school system. He sought to establish public
schools on a firm and stable basis. In 1835, the General Assembly passed a
law establishing the public school system in Missouri. The law outlined the
minimum school year, established the basic curriculum, and allowed for local
taxation to support schools. In the field of higher education, Dunklin
recommended in 1834 that a site for a state university be chosen and
partially funded through the sale of land. Five years later, the University
of Missouri became a reality. Gov.
Dunklin resigned his office three months before the end of his term, to
accept an appointment as U.S. surveyor general of Missouri and Illinois from
President Andrew Jackson, a post he held four years. The discharge of his
surveyor's duties conflicted with his business, and he retired to Potosi. In
1840, he sold his holdings at Potosi and moved to the Herculaneum area,
where he built a large house that he called Maje. In 1843, Dunklin was
appointed by Governor Thomas Reynolds as commissioner to adjust and
designate the boundary between Missouri and Arkansas. He held this
appointment until his death on July 25, 1844, from pneumonia. He was buried
two days later in a field near Maje. In 1851, his wife was buried with him
at Maje. Dunklin's
son, James L. Dunklin, inherited the estate upon the death of his mother.
Not as successful in business as his father, James was forced to sell the
estate. In 1885, the sale of the estate had one acre reserved on the only
part James owned, free and clear. This was to become the present Dunklin
Cemetery. Following the sale, Daniel and Emily were exhumed and reinterred
in this cemetery.
Visiting the Governor Daniel
Dunklin's Grave State Historic Site
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The
Missouri State Park Board agreed on Aug. 25, 1965, to accept the cemetery
for the purpose of erecting and maintaining "a memorial park in
remembrance of Daniel Dunklin…" This site was the forerunner of the
statute enacted in 1967 "to suitably mark every grave of a former
governor of this state and to maintain every grave of a former governor
within this state which is not within a perpetual care cemetery." The
Missouri Department of Natural Resources oversees Dunklin's Grave. The
gravesite sits atop the limestone bluffs that overlook the Mississippi River
(photo left) and interpretive signage has information on Dunklin's life and
his role in Missouri's history
Learn
more about the 
