Established in the 1870’s, a rural settlement in southeast Missouri called Tilman was formed.  Tilman, now incorporated with the city of Advance, was named after Civil War veteran, businessman, and local Postmaster, John N. Tilman.  In 1886, three acres of land was purchased by the trustees of the Pleasant Hill Church who were William H. Creed, William M. Foster, William Bollinger and Elijah Jenkins. Shortly thereafter, the first church was built.  

Located on State Highway OO, which was part of the historic thoroughfare used by early settlers of Stoddard County, called the Cape-Bloomfield Road, it is believed the Pleasant Hill church is the only remaining building of the original community of Tilman.  The first church on the property was destroyed by a wind storm in 1910, but the community not being deterred, rallied together and the church was quickly rebuilt the same year by John B. Creed, his three sons, Fred, Ed and Ben along with local volunteers. Services would continue to be held in the church through the late 1940’s until the congregation combined with other local Methodist churches, particularly in nearby Bell City. While services are no longer held at Pleasant Hill, the cemetery still remains active today.

In 1963, the Pleasant Hill Memorial Association was established as a not-for-profit organization to ensure proper care and maintenance for all who rest here and to provide repairs to the church as needed.  The Memorial Association holds an annual board meeting, which often includes guest speakers on historical topics, on the last Sunday in May (Memorial Day weekend).  All are welcome to attend.

This website is a work in progress.  There will be errors and there will be omissions, although none will be intentional.  While we are striving for 100% accuracy, record loss is an unfortunate reality for many historical places, to which Pleasant Hill has not been immune.  We are using all resources available to us so we may re-create, to the best of our ability, our list of internments. If you have family buried here, and they are not listed on the website, please email Angie@pleasanthillcemeteryadvancemo.org so we can update our records accordingly.

For a more in-depth history of Tilman/Pleasant Hill, CLICK HERE.