Cemeteries

Cemeteries |  Rosehill  |  Calvary |  Graceland  |  Oak Woods

Chgo1869
Chicago’s first cemeteries were laid out as early as 1835 when they designated two areas – one on the North Side (Protestant) and one on the South Side (Catholic). Interments in the South Side cemetery were halted in 1842 and in 1847 the bodies were moved to the Lincoln-park tract known as the Chicago Cemetery. The Chicago Cemetery tract contained about 3,136 burial lots. This new location was thought to be safe from encroachment for many years. In just 17 years, the bodies would have to be moved again.

Calvary Cemetery, in Evanston, was the first cemetery established by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1859. By 1864, three new cemeteries were built and in 1865 the Comon Council ordered the evacuation of the Lincoln-park tract. The lot owners received lots of equal size in one of three new cemeteries, Rosehill (1859), Graceland (1861) or Oak Woods (1864).