Founded in 1849, Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum was the first rural cemetery west of the Mississippi River. The mission of the Arboretum at Bellefontaine Cemetery is to support and enhance the cemetery as place of perpetual commemoration, as a garden landscape of beauty, inspiration and historic significance. Bellefontaine is an accessible and diverse horticultural collection and is an important natural sanctuary and habitat for wildlife in the urban environment. Today, the 314 acre lot is home both to many historic and architectural monuments as well as over 4000 trees representing well over 100 species. Until the mid-twentieth century, Bellefontaine Cemetery was home to a greater variety of plants and trees than the Missouri Botanical Garden.