It is a known fact that graveyards reflect the history and culture of a city. Cemeteries in Chicago hold the key to the past and are the final resting ground of many famous and infamous characters of its history. The deceased who rest in Chicago's graveyards certainly do reflect the city's past and include economic leaders Cyrus H. McCormick, Marshall Field, Richard W. Sears, and Montgomery Ward. The graves of great architects include those of Mies van der Rohe and John Root. Famous politicians include Richard J. Daley and Harold Washington, and popular sports figures include George Halas, Charles Comiskey, and Jesse Owens. And the list would not be complete without including the infamous crime figure, Al Capone.

The gravestones, monuments and mausoleums also reflect the changing styles over the years of design, fashion, and building materials. Some stones are considered great works of art. Take some time and visit the following graveyards that honor the dead.

NORTH

CHICAGO CITY CEMETERY
Lincoln Park behind the Chicago Historical Society
Clark Street & North Avenue
Chicago
As late as the 1870's, over 20,000 people were buried in the Chicago City Cemetery, but the steady population and commerce increases made this prime land very much in demand. Over the years, the "dearly departed" were formally moved to other permanent resting places (and informally if there were heavy rains since this was lake front property at the time!), in order to make room for the skyscrapers and other cultural developments of today.

As late as the 1970's and 1980's, however, full bodies or a few bones have been found during the excavations for new buildings. As of today, it is thought that two residents still remain: Ira Couch (1806-1857) - his mausoleum is near North Avenue in Lincoln Park, on the grounds of the Chicago Historical Society, and is the one remaining tangible evidence of the original Chicago City Cemetery - and the unmarked grave of David Kennison (1736-1852) who claimed to have been a 116 year-old survivor of the Boston Tea Party.


GRACELAND CEMETERY
Many of Chicago's most influential personalities, including some of the city's earliest residents and most aggressive civic leaders can be found within the gates of the 120-acre Graceland. Hired in order to retain the character of the original wilderness and naturalism, architects and landscapers of the time adorned Graceland with some of the finest works that, even today, it is considered the most prestigious cemetery in Chicago. Many of the most unique monuments, obelisks and tombs can be found on these hollowed grounds.

Some of Chicago's pioneers that can be found at Graceland are:

Philip D. Armour (1832-1901) ---one of the meat packing giants that donated $1 million to what is now called the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Daniel Burnham (1846-1912) ---creator of the universally acclaimed Chicago Planning Commission Plan of 1909 that saved much of the Chicago lakefront from residential and commercial development.

Marshall Field (1834-1906) ---the merchandising king with his flagship store on State Street, he became the richest man in Chicago worth an estimated $120 million (he is joined by four generations of Fields in Graceland).

William Hulbert (1832-1882) ---founder of the National League of professional baseball.

William le baron Jenney (1832-1907)---inventor of the skyscraper

William Kimball (1828-1904) ---of piano and organ manufacturing fame.

John Kinzie (1763-1828) ---the "first white settler" of the Chicago area. (The first true permanent Chicago area settler was Jean Baptiste DuSable).

Cyrus McCormick (1809-1894) ---the inventor of the reaper that revolutionized harvesting for farmers.

Potter (1826-1902) and Bertha Honore Palmer (1850-1918) ---originator of the money-back guarantee and the motto "the customer is always right" (he sold his store on State Street to Marshall Fields) ---also of "Palmer House" fame.

Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884) ---the first private detective and organizer of the U.S. Army's Secret Service.

George Pullman (1831-1897) ---of railroad fame.

Charles Wacker (1856-1929) ---supporter of the Chicago Planning Commission plan that laid out the city on a grid including bi-leveled streets to relieve traffic congestion.


JEWISH GRACELAND CEMETERY
3919 North Clark Street
Chicago
Jewish
As the numbers of German Jews grew in the mid 1840's it became necessary to find a communal burial ground, and the Jewish Burial Ground Society was founded. They first purchased lots in the old City Cemetery and then in the town of Lake View at what is now Belmont Avenue and Clark Street. Due to limited space, the first Jewish burial ground moved west to what is now Addison Street and Narragansett Avenue. Today the site is part of the burial ground unofficially known as Jewish Graceland, located south of Graceland along Clark Street. This sectarian cemetery has recently experienced damage to many of its monuments and is in a state of disrepair.


WUNDER'S
3963 North Clark Street
Chicago
Protestant
When City Cemetery was closed, exhumations from a communal plot owned by members of First Saint Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church formed the basis of Wunder's Cemetery, named for pastor Henry Wunder. It is the oldest Germanic Protestant cemetery in the city, and many of the markers have German inscriptions.


ST. BONIFACE CEMETERY
4901 North Clark Street
Chicago
Catholic
Established in 1863 to provide burial space and services exclusively for Roman Catholics of German origin, popular visits here include a Civil War Monument and a memorial dedicated to members of the German singing society, The Maennerchor.


ROSEHILL CEMETERY
5800 North Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago
Est. 1859
Rosehhill Cemetery is the largest nonsectarian cemetery in the Chicago metropolitan area, containing 350 acres of land. It initiated Chicago's first Jewish burials in a non-Jewish cemetery, due in large part to the efforts of Dr. I. Chronic, a prestigious German scholar and rabbi. It contains many artistically acclaimed monuments such as:

1.The glass encased reclining Mother and Child
2. The lifelike railroad mail car honoring its inventor, George S. Bangs
3. The tallest monument in a Chicago Cemetery - the 70' obelisk of Mayor "Long John" Wentworth
4. The Volunteer Fireman's Monument

Some of the more famous Chicagoans buried in Rosehill Cemetery are:

W.W. Boyington (1818-1898)---designer of the Chicago Water Tower

Jack Brickhouse (1916-1998)---baseball broadcaster

Leo Burnett (1891-1971)---of advertising fame

Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951)---Vice President of the United States and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

A.B. Dick (1856-1934)---founder of the duplicating machine

Otis Ward Hinckley (1861-1924)---of bottled water fame

Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932)---founder of the Museum of Science and Industry and financial genius behind Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Ignaz Schwinn (1860-1948)---of bicycle fame

Robert S. Scott---partner of Carson and Pirie

Richard Warren Sears (1863-1914)---founder of Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Aaron Montgomery Ward (1843-1913)---mail order pioneer


ST. HENRY CEMETERY
Devon and Ridge Avenue
Chicago
Catholic, Est. 1863
Chicagoans of Hispanic origin account for the majority of the burials now at St. Henry's, although in its early days German Catholics comprised most of the burials.

The cemetery includes a unique World War I monument that depicts Christ comforting both a sailor and a soldier, and the "Cracker Jack Boy," Robert Ruekheim (1913-1920) and his uncle, Henry Muno, reside here.


MONTROSE CEMETERY
5400 North Plaski Road
Chicago
In 1935 a group called the Japanese Mutual Aid Society formed to purchase cemetery plots for Japanese-Americans. By 1937 a mausoleum had been completed at Montrose Cemetery for their communal burial spot. This purchase was very timely, as during World War II a large number of Japanese-Americans were rejected by the established cemeteries.

Japanese-Americans are not the only ethnic group in the cemetery. Other ethnic groups include East Indians, Iranians, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Cambodians, Gypsies, Serbian-Americans and many others.

A special memorial to the approximate 600 people who lost their lives in December of 1903 in the Iroquois Theatre Fire can be found here. Five years later the Iroquois Memorial Association built an unusual diamond-shaped monument that stands near the Montrose entrance gates.


BOHEMIAN NATIONAL CEMETER
5255 North Pulaski Road
Chicago
Est. 1877
Founded in the 1870's primarily for the early Czech settlers, popular tourist attractions here include "The Grim Reaper" and "Mother" sculptures by Albin Polasek, a monument and communal plot to the victims of the 1915 Eastland Disaster (more than 800 Western Electric employees and their families died when the Eastland steamer overturned in the Chicago River), and Mayor Anton Cermak (1873-1933) who was shot and killed while on a Miami stage with President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Also of interest are the Lidice Memorial (dedicated to the victims of Hitler's 1942 attack on the small Czech town of Lidice), a Civil war Veterans Monument, United Spanish War Veterans Memorial and the World War I and World War II Memorials.

The most interesting feature of the cemetery is the indoor columbarium that features front panels of glass instead of marble or granite so that the urns may be displayed within frames of bronze and iron.


BETH-EL CEMETERY AND
RIDGELAWN CEMETERY
5736 North Pulaski Road
Chicago
Just north of Montrose Cemetery are two small Jewish cemeteries established in the late 1800's, where all of the headstones face symbolically eastward. A popular monument to see is the Eichenbaum Monument of a dying lion near the front entrance.


METRO NORTH

CALVARY CEMETERY
301 Chicago Avenue
Evanston
Catholic, Est. 1859
This is primarily a Roman Catholic Cemetery, established in 1859. Some its most famous dearly departed are:

Charles Comiskey---owner of the Chicago White Sox

John Cudahy---meat packer

James T. Farrell---popular author of the trilogy, Studs Lonigan that portrayed life in Chicago's Irish Catholic neighborhoods

Edward Hines---of lumber fame

Lawrence Kelly---co-founder of the Chicago Lyric Opera

Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna---a "not-so-honest" politician of the corrupt First Ward

Colonel Mulligan---killed in the battle of the Shenandoah Valley in 1864, he was the Commander of the "Irish Brigade" during the Civil War.

Priest's Circle---many ordained priests rest here, and their headstones are in the form of chalices and other appropriate symbolic religious characterizations.

And many will delight in the legendary story of a World War II aviator, reported to have drowned in Lake Michigan during a training flight. For decades the ghost of this young man was reported to appear through the cemetery gates. He has not been identified with anyone buried in the cemetery, and no one has seen him since the 1960's.


CHURCH OF THE HOLY COMFORTER
222 Kenilworth Avenue
Kenilworth
Protestant

North of Calvary Cemetery along the shores of Lake Michigan is the Church of the Holy Comforter Cemetery, where Journalist and Poet Eugene Field lies in rest.


FORT SHERIDAN CEMETERY

Fort Sheridan
East of Sheridan Road
Highwood
Visitors are attracted to this cemetery primarily for its architectural and artistic surroundings, especially the 150-foot water tower and the Phillip Sheridan monument. Although it lies outside of the Cook County border, Fort Sheridan Cemetery is the final resting place of Phillipp Spinner, August Siefert, and John Hackett, who rode with Custer at Little Bighorn.


MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY
9900 Gross Point Road
Skokie
Famous for its Gothic crematorium and chapel and the following dearly departed:

Will Harridge (1883-1971)---MLB American League President

Sid Luckman (1916-1998)---star quarterback of the NFL Chicago Bears that won four championships in the 1940's

Robert Reed (1932-1992)---Mr. Mike Brady, father of the Brady Bunch, a popular TV sitcom in the early 1970's

ST. ADALBERT CEMETERY
6800 North Milwaukee Avenue
Niles
Catholic, Est. 1872
Perhaps the largest Polish cemetery in the Chicagoland area, this predominantly Catholic Cemetery was established in 1872 and some of its main tourist attractions include:

A row of mausoleums that almost have the appearance of a city street due to the row of trees in front of the mausoleums.

 A granite and bronze World War I memorial

 Several monuments portraying the Holy Family of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph

 Shrine to St. Maximillian Kolbe (1894-1941)---the Polish-born Franciscan friar, publisher and missionary who was imprisoned and killed in Auschwitz during World War II

 Fredrak Fraske (1874-1973)---the last survivor of the Indian Wars

 George "Papa Bear" Halas (1895-1983)---of NFL and Chicago Bear fame

 A monument in the shape of two dead trees connected by a vine in the form of an arch and supporting a cross


SUNSET MEMORIAL PARK
3100 Shermer Road
Northbrook

This cemetery was primarily for the North Shore blacks vs. newer cemeteries for blacks that are located in the southern parts of Cook County.


ALL SAINTS CEMETERY
700 North River Road
Des Plaines
Catholic, Est. 1923
All Saints Cemetery is home to many ethnic groups, although it was originally just for Irish Catholics. Some of its most famous "residents" are the following sports figures:

George Halas, Jr. (1925-1979)---the son of "Papa Bear" Halas who is buried at St. Adalbert's Cemetery in Niles

Walter Palmer (1912-1998)---pro wrestler

Charles "Gabby" Hartnett (1900-1972)---Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher

Harry Caray (1914-1998)---beloved broadcaster of the Major League Baseball Chicago Cubs and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" song which he sang during the seventh inning stretch of the Cubs' home games.


SHALOM MEMORIAL PARK
1700 West Rand Road
Arlington Heights
Jewish
This cemetery has one of the largest Holocaust memorials in the Midwest. It is called the Tower of Remembrance and is 80 feet high.


CITY WEST

ALL SAINTS POLISH NATIONAL CATHOLIC CEMETERY
9201 West Higgins Road
Chicago
Polish National Catholic
All Saints was built to serve the followers of the Polish National Catholic Church, which was established by Fr. Anthony Kozlowski to serve congregants who felt left out by other parish communities. This is the only Chicago cemetery with its own picnic area, following the old ethnic custom of picnicking at the graves of loved ones.

SAINT NICHOLAS UKRAINIAN CEMETERY
8901 West Higgins Road
Chicago
This cemetery holds the graves of Ukrainian nationals, whose colorful grave markers are decorated with suns and inscribed with both English and Ukrainian epitaphs.


ST. JOHN'S/ST. JOHANNES CEMETERY
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago
Protestant, Est. 1837
and
REST HAVEN CEMETERY
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago
Before O'Hare International Airport was built, these cemeteries were built on farmland in the mid 1800's. They tie as the oldest Chicago-area cemeteries. Area residents made quiet visits to the cemetery until the 1950's when the city bought the Orchard Place Airport and renamed in O'Hare International in honor of Edward O'Hare, the Chicago World War II veteran. When the city annexed the land, the cemeteries were part of it. Visitors now can watch the planes landing and taking off by driving in from Irving Park Road.

Visitors also enjoy the cemeteries' monuments, especially the monument to St. John's Pastor William Boerner and a row of four lectern-shaped markers dating back to the 1890's.


COOK COUNTY POOR FARM AND INSANE ASYLUM
Irving Park Road and Narragansett Avenue
Chicago
For almost 60 years the land at Irving Park Road and Narragansett Avenue was used by the county as a hospital, a sanitarium, an insane asylum and a cemetery. In 1912 the state purchased the land. Eventually the cemetery was abandoned, and the potter's field, containing an estimated 38,000 dead, went to seed. 

In recent years, as the land is being developed for Wright College, a shopping area, and residences, the cemeteries' remains were unearthed and stored. A memorial park is planned for the site. Although the plans have been slow to develop, the proposed 66,000 square feet will host the re-interment of the excavated remains, and the newly named Read-Dunning Memorial Park will have identifying markers for the deceased.


ROBINSON WOODS INDIAN BURIAL GROUND
Robinson Woods North
Lawrence Avenue & East River Road
Chicago
Named for Alexander Robinson, leader of the Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes, the burial ground is located in Robinson Woods North, part of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Robinson was an important Chicago settler who eased relations between the natives and early white residents of the city. For his work he was awarded a large segment of land, where his descendants lived, including a burial ground. The site is now a small clearing at the entrance to this popular preserve.


WESTLAWN CEMETERY
7801 West Montrose Avenue
Chicago
Jewish
Westlawn is a good example of the change in burial habits in Jewish cemeteries during the 1920's. Prior to this time, the deceased were put in sections according to membership in synagogues, fraternities, or other organizations. During the 1920's they shifted to the new practice of grouping people with other family members in individual family plots. Among the famous people reposing at Westlawn are:

Abe Saperstein (1902-1966)---founder of the famous Harlem Globetrotter's basketball team

Gene Siskel (1946-1999)---famous film critic who teamed with Roger Ebert to create the local public television movie-review program which eventually went national

Jack Ruby (1911-1967)---infamous nightclub owner who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald

Albert N. "Wallpaper" Wolff (1903-1998)---one of Eliott Ness's legendary crew identified as "Last of the FBI Untouchables"


ACADIA PARK CEMETERY
7800 West Irving Park Road
Chicago
Masonic
Acadia Park is a cemetery that was founded by the Free Masons. It features a large, community mausoleum that houses a Masonic chapel and many spectacular private rooms. The famous businessman, Alvah Roebuck, business partner of Richard Sears is entombed here. From Irving Park Road you can view the two obelisks decorated with the Masonic symbols of a square and compass.


IRVING PARK CEMETERY
7777 West Irving Park Road
Chicago
Here lie the infamous Gusenberg brothers. Frank and Peter were buried at this cemetery after being fatally gunned-down in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Frank actually lived through the massacre but refused to identify his assailants. The last words he said to his police interrogators were, I ain't no copper.


MOUNT OLIVE CEMETERY
3800 North Narragansett Avenue
Chicago
Mount Olive lies within the largest section of a cemetery complex which includes Mt. Mayriv, Mt. Isaiah, Mount B'nai B'rith, and Rosemont Park. Built originally for Chicago's Scandinavian population, the cemetery now has more burials of Latvians, Armenians, and other ethnic groups. A very unusual glass mausoleum and Scandinavian water fountain near the entrance draw many visitors to this site.

METRO WEST

ST. JOSEPH CEMETERY
Belmont and Cumberland Avenue
River Grove
Catholic
Gangster Lester Gillis, better known as "Baby Face" Nelson, is buried at St. Joseph Cemetery. The cemetery has a lovely open-air chapel.


ELMWOOD CEMETERY
2905 Thatcher Avenue
River Grove
This is one of two predominately Greek cemeteries in the Chicago area. A main attraction is the sight of hundreds of candles scattered around the cemetery on a clear, dark night, a reminder to passers-by of the light of the resurrection set against the darkness of death. Many other nationalities are also represented here, such as Germans, Swedes, Albanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Gypsies.

Famous comedian John Belushi, who died in 1982, has a monument erected to him at Elmwood Cemetery, but his remains are buried elsewhere.


FOREST HOME/GERMAN WALDHEIM CEMETERY
863 South Des Plaines Avenue
Forest Park
Est. 1876
This large cemetery, spread over 200 acres around the Des Plaines River, has almost 190,000 graves.

Over a century ago, the Potawatomi Indians buried their dead along the Des Plaines River in mounds. Only one remains today at Forest Home. After the Black Hawk War, the Potawatomi were relocated west of the Mississippi River. When they left, the land was open for bids. One of the early settlers in the area who purchased part of the available land was Ferdinand Haase, a Prussian immigrant. He built a homestead there and started farming the land. When one of his neighbors died in 1854, he was the first white person to be buried in the soil of the future Forest Home Cemetery.

Mr. Haase had converted his homestead into a very successful public park. However, the visitors were often loud and unruly, causing him to close the park and look for another use for his land. At the same time, the Chicago City Cemetery closed and new cemeteries inside the city limits were banned. Mr. Haase's plan to develop a new cemetery was helped by the fact that he already had a rail spur from the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad connecting his picnic grounds to the city of Chicago. This would enable funeral parties and visitors to easily make the trip back and forth to the cemetery.

The first portion of the land went to German Lutherans and another to a group of German fraternal lodges who founded German Waldheim one year later. Then a group of leading citizens from the Oak Park settlement proposed a non-sectarian cemetery for the English-speaking upper classes in the area, resulting in the cemetery called Forest Home (the English for Waldheim).

Today, Forest Home is a mix of different burial customs and funery art, representing the culture of its deceased population. Ethnic groups are occasionally buried in their own sections, as well as various veterans groups surrounding handsome central markers. Other group burial sites include labor unions and fraternal organizations. Many noteworthy individuals are buried at Forest Home, including:

 Lucy Parsons (1853-1942)---Mexican-African-American reformer

 Emma Goldman (1869-1940)---Soviet revolutionary

 Aldolph Strasser (1844-1939)---American Federation of Labor founder

Clarence (1871-1928) & Grace (1872-1951) Hemingway---Parents of Ernest

Michael Todd (1903-1958)---Husband of Elizabeth Taylor

Billy Sunday (1862-1935)---Premier evangelist


JEWISH WALDHEIM CEMETERY
1800 South Harlem Avenue
Forest Park
Jewish
The largest of the Jewish cemeteries in the Chicago area is in Forest Park, in the part of the cemetery known as Waldheim. Jewish Waldheim was founded in the mid to late 19^th century during the Jewish immigration to Chicago. The first group who had immigrated to Chicago was Germanic and quickly adjusted to the American ways. The second group of immigrants were Eastern European Jews, who were more conservative and not particularly interested in the American culture. They wanted their own cemeteries and purchased plots in places like Waldheim, an area of communal plots representing over 300 congregations. Waldheim's first Jewish interment was in 1875. It was a day-long trip from the Maxwell Street neighborhood for funeral parties and visitors of Waldheim. It wasn't until 1914 when the Metropolitan Elevated began running that it became easier to reach the cemetery.

One of the most famous graves in the cemetery is that of an 18-year-old Marine, Samuel Meisenberg (d.1914), who was the first American killed during the American military landings at Vera Cruz, Mexico. He received the Purple Heart 75 years after his death. Also interred in Jewish Waldheim is Albert Weinshank (1893-1929), who was shot to death with the six other members of Bugs Moran's gang in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.


WOODLAWN CEMETERY
7600 Cermak Road
Forest Park
Woodlawn's biggest draw is the burial ground for circus performers, maintained by the Showmen's League of America. Included among its residents are 50 performers and crew members who were killed in a wreck of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train near Hammond, Indiana in June 1918. Some of the headstones are marked with the nicknames of "The Fat Man" and "Baldy" or "Unknown." Standing by are five spectacular stone elephants with their trunks lowered as if in mourning for their friends. Also buried at Woodlawn is Ervin Dusak (1920-1994), who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team in the 1950s.


CONCORDIA CEMETERY
7900 Madison Street
Forest Park
Protestant
Protestants of German ancestry established their own cemetery in the Forest Park community of burial grounds so that their deceased would not rest with others of a different ethnicity. Concordia Cemetery's beautiful surroundings include a rare carillon and a striking limestone grapevine and marker commemorating two victims of the 1915 Eastland disaster.


ALTENHEIM CEMETERY
7824 Madison Street
Forest Park
Protestant
Altenheim Cemetery is the property of the German Old People's Home. It is situated next to Concordia Cemetery. Its simple concrete markers define the grounds as a resting place that seeks uniformity.


MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY
4101 Oak Park Avenue
Stickney
Mount Auburn Cemetery is home to a large population of Chinese-Americans. Cemetery regulations call for the use of simple flush stones. Only one Oriental shrine looks out over one of the new sections of the cemetery. This shrine is used for seasonal ceremonial offerings and is the only reminder of the site's Chinese heritage. Another monument of interest here is "The Living Lord." It is the face of Christ with features that ordinarily would be closest to the viewer but are instead furthest away. This creates an optical illusion not seen in any other Chicago cemetery.


MOUNT EMBLEM CEMETERY
510 West Grand Avenue
Elmhurst
Originally built as a Masonic cemetery, this site now conducts a variety of burials in its unusually peaceful surroundings. Wedding parties as well as funeral groups gather at this site for portraits in front of the authentic 1865 windmill, the emblem of Mount Emblem.


ELM LAWN CEMETERY
401 East Lake Street
Elmhurst
An unusual feature of the cemetery is the interment of pets with their owners. Separate pet burial is also available. Another point of interest here is the cemetery's Zoroastrian section, where most of the marking stones bear the likeness of the creator, Ahuru-Mazda.


ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Lake Street & Frontage Road
Elmhurst
Interesting sites at Arlington Cemetery include the memorial to the Modern Woodmen of America and monuments to Bartenders and Waiters. The term, "Modern Woodmen" has nothing to do with forestry or carpentry but refers to pioneer woodmen clearing a forest, an analogy involving members of the Modern Woodmen clearing their financial responsibilities before they die.

In the early 1900s the Modern Woodmen Foresters, an axe-wielding drill team, entertained audiences at the World's Fair in St. Louis with their unique performances. They grew in popularity, traveling across the country appearing in parades and competitions. World War I caused the dissolution of the Foresters, and they never performed again.

From 1909 to 1947 the Modern Woodmen operated a tuberculosis sanitarium in the Rocky Mountain foothills with great success. The medicine of clean air and exercise helped thousands of members to recover from their illness.


OAK RIDGE CEMETERY
4301 West Roosevelt Road
Hillside
The Oak Ridge Cemetery is home to a few popular notables of the day:

Harold Lincoln Gray (1894-1968)---creator of Li'l Orphan Annie, cartoon character in the pages of the Chicago Tribune

Howlin' Wolf (1910-1976)---born Chester A. Burnett, famous blues performer known for scaring audiences with his moans and wails


MOUNT CARMEL CEMETERY
1400 South Wolf Road
Hillside
Catholic, Est. 1901
In this predominantly Italian, lavishly decorated cemetery, lay the most eclectic group of personalities in the Chicago area. The Bishops Mausoleum is home to the body of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin (1928-1996), who died after a much-publicized battle with pancreatic cancer. Cardinal Bernardin lay in state for three days in Holy Name Cathedral where 100,000 mourners lined up to pay their respects to their beloved leader. Bernardin was interred with other Church dignitaries, including Bishop Quarter (1806-1848), Archbishop Feehan (1829-1902) and Archbishop Quigley (1854-1915), and Joseph Cardinal Cody (1907-1982). The Mausoleum is open on Sundays several months of the year.

Another popular site is the grave of a young mother named Julia Buccola Petta (d.1921, age 29) known as "The Italian Bride". She and her infant died in childbirth and were buried together. Julia's mother was haunted by dreams of her daughter begging to be disinterred. After seven years the coffin was unearthed, and all were shocked when after opening the casket, the baby's remains were decomposed but Julia remained perfectly intact. Because of this supposed miracle, the family had two porcelain portraits added to Julia's marker; one of the girl in life, and the other of Julia lying in her casket seven years after her death.

One of the most notorious characters in gangland history lies in Mount Carmel Cemetery. Alphonse "Al" Capone (1899-1947) was born in Brooklyn, New York, but fled to Chicago to avoid arrest and caught up with John Torrio. Capone and Torrio took over a bootlegging operation and presented a solid front of murder to any gang that wouldn't respect their ultimate authority. After a tough fight with Dion O'Banion's gang, Torrio moved back to New York and left Capone in command of the Chicago Mob. Even after a life of crime, Capone met his demise with a bout of syphilis which spread to his brain and killed him. He is remembered with a simple grave marker.

Other criminals and gangland members interred at Mount Carmel are Dion O'Banion, Hymie Weiss, "Machine Gun Jack" McGurn, James Vincenzo DeMora, Angelo DeMora, John May, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, Roger Touhy, Antonio "The Scourge" Lombardo, and Sam "Mooney" Giancana.


QUEEN OF HEAVEN CEMETERY
1400 South Wolf Road
Hillside
Catholic, Est. 1947
Queen of Heaven Cemetery is another resting place for Mob members. The infamous Sam Battaglia (1908-1973) lies here, as well as another Capone cohort, Paul "The Waiter" Ricca (1897-1972). But neither Battaglia nor Ricca were as notorious as Antonio Accardo (1906-1992), known as "Big Tuna" or "Joe Batters." But the good who lay interred at Queen of Heaven Cemetery far outnumber the bad. This is also the site of The Shrine of the Holy Innocents, a section for the burials of children. Twenty-five of the children who perished in the Our Lady of the Angels school fire are laid to rest at this special site. Many who visit the cemetery offer their prayers at this shrine. The cemetery also contains the Community Mausoleum which houses more than 20,000 souls, one of the largest in the United States. It houses an outstanding display of beautiful stained glass panels.

Although mourners are its regular visitors, many come to the cemetery to take part in a curious phenomenon - the Marian apparitions reported by a retired railroad employee. Joseph Reinholtz made a pilgrimage to Bosnia-Herzogovina in 1987 to pray where six young people claimed they had visions of the Blessed Virgin. One of the seers prayed over Joseph; and when he returned to Chicago, his failing sight returned when he looked at a statue of Mary weeping tears. He returned to Bosnia in 1989. He was then given a mission to return home and look for a crucifix next to a three-branched tree where he should pray. Joseph found that tree in Queen of Heaven Cemetery.

One year after beginning his prayer at the tree, he experienced his first apparition of the Blessed Virgin. Several months later he had another of the Virgin, who appeared with the archangel, St. Michael. Joseph spread the news and large numbers of pilgrims began joining him in daily prayers at the site. Visitors reported photos containing images of Mary and the angels, a strong scent of roses at the site in the winter, and conversations with heavenly beings. To prove their visions, they displayed their old, battered colored rosaries that had turned into shining gold after visiting Queen of Heaven Cemetery.

Although the Archdiocese of Chicago has not officially affirmed these apparitions, Joseph continued his almost daily visits to the site until he suffered a stroke in 1995.

Other notables who lie in rest at Queen of Heaven are Chicago Bear William Wightkin (1927-1997) and comedian George Kirby (1925-1995). Also to note is that the adjacent Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery is under the care of the Queen of Heaven Cemetery complex.


HINSDALE ANIMAL CEMETERY
6400 Bentley Avenue
Clarendon Hills
This animal cemetery provides a resting place for not only dogs and cats, but also for birds, horses, monkeys, and other beloved pets from the Chicago area.


SOUTH

OAK WOODS CEMETERY
1035 East 67^th Street
Chicago
Est. 1853
Oak Woods Cemetery is one of the city's oldest cemeteries. It was founded in 1853 and held its first burial in 1865. Serviced by the Illinois Central railroad a year later, visitors now had easy access to their loved ones. Adoph Strauch of Cincinnati's renowned Spring Grove Cemetery was brought in to oversee the development of the cemetery. His plan disallowed walls, curbs, or fences of any kind around the lot edges, resulting in beautiful park of sloping hills and trees, with lakes and winding roadways. The buildings are reminiscent of English Gothic with a Prairie School influence. Oak Woods is home to many notable deceased including:

 Enrico Fermi (1901-1954)---Nobel Prize winner in physics

Jesse Binga (1865-1950)---the city�s first black banker

Giacomo "Big Jim" Colosimo (d. 1920)---Mob heavyweight

The parents of General John J. Pershing

Mayor Harold Washington (1922-1987)---Mayor of Chicago

Big Bill Thompson (1867-1944)---notorious Al Capone crony

 Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guznik (1887-1956)---bookkeeper to Al Capone

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931)---Civil rights activist

Adrian "Cap" Anson (1852-1922)---Hall of Fame baseball player

Jesse Owens (1913-1980)---Olympic gold medal winner and world record holder

Oak Woods is also the home of The Confederate Mound, the burial site of some 6,000 Confederate soldiers, the victims of Camp Douglas, a south side prisoner-of-war camp. It is the largest Northern burial site for Southern soldiers.


MOUNT OLIVET CEMETERY
2755 West 111^th Street
Chicago
Catholic, Est. 1885
The famous Catherine O'Leary (Mrs. O'Leary) (d.1895, age 68), whose cow started the Great Conflagration in Chicago, burning down the town in 1871, lies here in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Mt. Olivet was the first of the south side Catholic cemeteries, and is home to the Irish Nationalist Society obelisk and the 1897 monument to the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The monument is a 30-foot tower embellished with the traditional symbols of a wolfhound, a harp, and a Celtic cross. Also at Mount Olivet is the original grave of Alphonse "Al" Capone (1899-1947), whose body was moved to Mt. Carmel Cemetery because his family was afraid that grave robbers would steal his body.


MOUNT GREENWOOD CEMETERY
2900 West 111^th
Chicago
Mount Greenwood is home to members of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, where a white bronze elk stands over the graves amongst the rolling hills at the edge of Chicago. It has a beautiful limestone chapel and a monument with a Corinthian column etched with Masonic symbols on the base.


ST. CASIMIR CEMETERY
4401 West 111^th Street
Chicago
Catholic, Est. 1903
Artistically outstanding monuments and markers make this Roman Catholic Lithuanian cemetery unique among all others in Chicago. Enormous monuments are made of materials such as fiberglass and steel, creating eye-catching effects. The grave sites are spaced generously, providing lots of room to showcase the exquisite monuments in what looks like a sculpture garden.


METRO SOUTH

RESURRECTION CEMETARY
7201 South Archer Avenue
Justice
Catholic, 1904
This enormous graveyard is home to a phantom known as Resurrection Mary, who is linked to at least six occupants of this cemetery, all young accident victims named Mary buried in the 1930's. A story that has circulated since the 1970's speaks of a young woman who was seen trapped in the cemetery clutching the front gates. No one was found in the cemetery that night, but the bars had been bent apart and marked with the imprint of two small hands. Even though the bars were removed and repaired, they still bear two discolored strips of metal that will not take paint.

Two mausoleums stand in Resurrection Cemetery, a huge traditional one and a garden variety one. One notable major league outfielder, John Ostrowski, is buried here. He played for both the Cubs (1943-1946) and the White Sox (1949-1950).


BETHANIA CEMETERY
7701 South Archer Avenue
Justice
Protestant, Est. 1894
Next to Resurrection Cemetery is this Protestant cemetery. Many people of German ancestry are buried here. A highlight of the cemetery is the Kathmann Monument. This detailed stone depicts a woman kneeling before a well and is expertly carved and well preserved.


LITHUANIAN NATIONAL CEMETERY
8201 South Kean Road
Justice
Protestant, Est. 1911
This cemetery contains monuments to several Lithuanian presidents, graves of many area immigrants, and many gold, green, and red flags.

Lithuanian National Cemetery is the home to Albert Vaitis Carter (1915-1987), who was born on the fourth of July and celebrated his birthday in many historic placed across the United States. His monument is inscribed on all four sides with details of his life experiences and also makes clear that he is now AT REST - FINALLY.

ARCHER WOODS CEMETERY
Kean Road & 84^th Street
Justice
Archer Woods is known as the unsettling burial ground next to Lithuanian National Cemetery. Visitors are often greeted by the sight of concrete burial vaults stacked up by the side of the road. There is also a local legend of a weeping woman said to haunt Archer Woods. Despite this negative impression, the cemetery provides a pleasant tour.


EVERGREEN CEMETERY
8700 South Kedzie Avenue
Evergreen Park
This large Evergreen Park cemetery provides a resting place for a number of cultural groups, including Greeks, Ukrainians, Palestinians, and Jews. A popular destination is the grave of Ray Schalk (1892-1970), the Chicago White Sox catcher and Hall of Famer.


ST. MARY CEMETERY
87^th Street & Hamlin Avenue
Evergreen Park
Catholic, Est. 1888
St. Mary Cemetery was established by south side Germans in 1888. The earlier ethnic groups buried here are now being joined by large Mexican-American sections. These many cultures keep the grotto aglow with many lighted votives.

Two famous sports figures are buried here; Brian Piccolo (1943-1970), popular Chicago Bears running back and Edward C. Gaedel (1925-1961), onetime midget baseball sensation.


CEDAR PARK CEMETERY
12540 South Halsted Street
Calumet Park
Cedar Park Cemetery lies between Blue Island and Chicago. It is the final resting place for race car driver James Snyder (1909-1939) and Chicago White Sox infielder Donald M. Kolloway, Sr. (1918-1994).


LINCOLN CEMETERY
12300 South Kedzie Avenue
Blue Island
Lincoln Cemetery is one of two black cemeteries and was founded in 1911 by a cooperative organization supported by fraternal lodges in response to discriminatory policies of white cemeteries.

Jazz immortals Lil Hardin Armstrong (1898-1971), an outstanding woman of early jazz, and Jimmy Reed (1925-1976), "The Boss Man of the Blues" are buried at Lincoln Cemetery. Another notable resident is Bessie Coleman (1892-1926), the first African-American woman to gain a pilot's license and succeed as a stunt pilot. Also at rest in Lincoln Cemetery is Andrew "Rube" Foster (1879-1930), known as "the father of Negro baseball."


OAK HILL CEMETERY
11900 South Kedzie Avenue
Blue Island
Originally founded by Scandinavians from Chicago's south side, sections were eventually sold off for establishment as an African-American cemetery after the Scandinavian population began leaving the city. Oak Hill's community mausoleum is as grand as many of the larger mausoleums in other cemeteries.


MOUNT HOPE CEMETERY
115^th Street & Fairfield Avenue
Blue Island
Est. 1870s
One of the interesting spots to visit in Mount Hope Cemetery is the Rotary International Memorial, a garden of bushes and graves surrounding a monument to Chicagoan Paul P. Harris (1868-1947), the club's founder who settled in Chicago to study law. Also of interest are the "white bronze" (zinc) statue of a Union Soldier, erected by the Grand Army of the Republic, and the row of hillside mausoleums. Notables buried in Mount Hope Cemetery are meat packer Gustavus Swift (1839-1903) and ballplayer George D. "Buck" Weaver (1890-1956), a member of the infamous 1919 Black Sox.


RESTVALE CEMETERY
117^th Street & Laramie Avenue
Alsip
Many notable musicians are interred in Restvale Cemetery including the incomparable Muddy Waters (1915-1981). Also, visit the graves of blues buddies Samuel G. Maghett "Magic Sam" (1936-1969) and King of the Blues Harmonica, Walter Horton (1918-1981). Don't miss the rare monument of a stone organ, just waiting for the fingers of Restvale's talented residents.

Another notable who rests here is Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, famed Harlem Globetrotter and DuSable High School basketball star. Upon leaving Restvale, note the tiny adjacent cemetery known as Hazel Green, a site for local burials dating from the late 19^th century.


HOLY SEPULCHRE CEMETERY
6001 West 111^th Street
Alsip
Catholic, Est. 1923
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery is home to one of Chicago's most famous political figures. Richard J. Daley (1902-1976) was laid to rest here after 21 remarkable years as Mayor of Chicago. He served for an amazing six terms and evolved into a national figure, commanding the attention of many national political personalities.

Also of interest here is the grave of Mary Alice Quinn (1920-1935), who died at the age of 14 after an intensely holy life of devotion. Her life was modeled after St. Theresa of Lisieux, who lived a life of charity. Quinn won the affection of many followers who believed she should be sainted. Visitors to her grave have been treated to an overwhelming scent of roses, even in the wintertime, a phenomenon attributed to St. Theresa's promise to send "a shower of roses" to assure the faithful of her constant intercession for them.

Visitors may also remember torch singer Helen Morgan (1900-1941), who lies in rest at Holy Sepulchre. Some of her famous hits were "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Bill," and "Frankie and Johnny."


BURR OAK CEMETERY
4400 West 127^th Street
Alsip
After an extremely successful career as the self-styled "Queen of the Blues," Dinah Washington (1924-1963) succumbed to her life of excesses drugs, drinks, and men and was laid to rest in Burr Oak Cemetery. Also interred there are two other jazz legends, Willie Dixon (1915-1922) and Otis Spann (1930-1970). Dixon composed music and led Chess Record's studio band, producing many of Chess's blockbuster recordings. Pianist Spann became successful in the 1960's as a solo artist. He is best remembered as the keyboard player in the Muddy Waters band.

Other notables buried in Burr Oak are Harlem Globetrotter, Inman Jackson (1907-1973) and actor Lexie Bigham (1968-1995), who appeared in Boyz in the Hood, Dave, and Seven.


ST. BENEDICT CEMETERY
4600 West 135^th Street
Crestwood
Catholic, Est. 1885
This cemetery is run by the office of Mount Olivet and is home to many members of the Mantellate Sisters, Servants of Mary, including Reverend Mother Louis Pedrini (1875-1938), founder of the orders' American congregation.


BACHELORS GROVE CEMETERY
143^rd Street & the Midlothian Turnpike
Bremen Township, near Oak Forest, Midlothian, and Crestwood
Bachelors Grove was founded in the mid 19^th century as Everdon's Cemetery. Around 1845 it was renamed Bachelors Grove after a family who had settled in that area. For many years it also served as a peaceful place where families came for picnics and fishing in the site's quarry pond.

Although around 200 people are believed to be buried here, fewer than 20 headstones are left. The last know burial of a body was in 1965, and the last burial of ashes was in 1989. The cemetery had fallen into a state of disrepair since the 1950s when local teenagers began hanging out in the surrounding woods, spreading stories of hauntings, crime, and Satanic worship on the grounds.

Though the cemetery is a wreck today, there is hope that the local people will make the effort to restore its former beauty. If you do visit, walk down the road to the grove where you will see the graves of the early settlers.


ST. JAMES CEMETERY
106^th Street & Archer Avenue
Lemont
Catholic, Est. 1837
St. James Cemetery was a former Indian burial ground and French signal fort when it became a cemetery in 1837, making it the Chicago area's oldest existing cemetery. Also known as St. James-Sag, it is named for its location at Route 171 and the Calumet Sag Channel.

The church and churchyard were built to serve the Irish workers who constructed the Illinois & Michigan Canal, linking the Great Lakes with the Illinois River. Illness and death often resulted from the hard labor and brutal conditions the workers endured. A great number of Irish-American laborers were laid to rest in the churchyard of St. James.

The burial ground was far superior to the two cemeteries in Chicago proper. Both of those sites were on the riverbanks, and the shallow graves became unearthed. The steep and sloping ground of St. James has prevented the surrounding bodies of water from damaging its graves.


MOUNT GLENWOOD CEMETERY
18301 East Glenwood-Thornton Road
Glenwood
Est. 1908
In the early 1900s African Americans were frustrated by being shut out of the "whites-only" cemeteries. Even those cemeteries that allowed African American burials had a sliding price scale which discriminated against the blacks. Black businessmen responded by founding their own cemeteries, the first of which was Mount Glenwood, opening in 1908. It had a non-discriminatory clause in its charter, the first of its kind.

The most famous grave in the cemetery belongs to Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975), formerly known as Robert Poole. Poole converted to Islam and took his new name. Muhammad headed the Nation of Islam for 40 years and was succeeded by his son, Wallace D. Muhammad, who changed many of his father's doctrines to reflect a more orthodox Islam.


HOLY CROSS CEMETERY
801 Michigan City Road
Calumet City
Catholic, Est. 1893
There is an unusual mausoleum in Holy Cross Cemetery constructed of limestone with red granite columns. It is inscribed with the words, "What you are we were, what we are now you will be. Think this over and go on." Certainly this is food for thought.

Holy Cross is home to legendary jazz drummer Gene Krupa (1909-1973). Born in Chicago, he bought his first drum set at south side Brown's Music Company. His successful style led him to setting the standard for the Chicago sound in jazz. Gene Krupa died in New York, and his body was returned to Chicago for burial.