Harugari Cemetery was established in 1877 as a burial ground for a secret German society named for the ancient order of German knighthood called The Order of Harugari. The name Harugari comes from the old German word Haruc, meaning Holy Shrine, a meeting place under oak trees. The society began on the East Coast in 1848 as a way for German immigrants to preserve German culture and language, and as members moved westward they established Harugari lodges along the way. By 1897, 22 of Missouri’s 25 Harugari lodges were in the St. Louis area. To establish their heritage and identify their descendants, the society had cemetery land donated or purchased. In 1877, the Eniigkeits Lodge #342 des Deutschen Ordens Harugari acquired 1.81 acres from Henry and Anna Seibel, prominent residents and landowners, and Henry, who had immigrated from Germany at age 16, donated his land with the understanding that it be used only as a cemetery. Of the many graves there, only 22 markers remain, including Henry Seibel’s, and for generations surviving family members of those buried there have maintained the cemetery.