Jefferson Barracks

A military post where war, medicine, epidemic and burial have overlapped for nearly two centuries.

Jefferson Barracks

Jefferson Barracks is one of the oldest military sites west of the Mississippi, a place where the history of the U.S. Army intersects with hospitals, epidemics and an enormous national cemetery.

The Story

Established in the 1820s, Jefferson Barracks became a major U.S. Army post overlooking the Mississippi south of St. Louis. Soldiers trained and passed through the installation during conflicts from the nineteenth century into the twentieth.

Military life also meant disease. Before modern sanitation and medicine, infectious disease could kill more soldiers than combat, and the barracks landscape accumulated hospitals, quarantine measures and graves alongside its military buildings.

Today the surviving historic district, park, museums and national cemetery preserve different pieces of that long institutional history.

What Remains Today

Historic buildings survive within Jefferson Barracks County Park, while Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery continues immediately nearby as an active federal cemetery.

Visiting Information

Jefferson Barracks County Park and its museums have their own hours; the National Cemetery follows federal cemetery rules and hours. Check current information before visiting specific buildings.