Lake Forest Cemetery is a

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The site was first identified for burial in 1857 when the town of Lake Forest was planned. Later,

William Le Baron Jenney William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832 – June 14, 1907) was an American architect and engineer who is known for building the first skyscraper in 1884. In 1998, Jenney was ranked number 89 in the book ''1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ran ...

designed a winding road system and

Ossian Cole Simonds Ossian Cole Simonds (November 11, 1855 – November 20, 1931), often known as O. C. Simonds, was an American landscape designer. He preferred the term 'landscape gardener' to that of ' landscape architect'. A number of Simonds' works are listed ...

developed the landscape scheme.

History

Overcrowding of church property led to the

movement in the mid-19th century. The movement came to the United States in 1831 with the construction of

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In 1857, the Lake Forest Association, a group of business leaders looking to develop a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

community, purchased a tract of land north of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

along

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. In an effort to maintain a high standard of public health, the association set aside a portion of the land along the northernmost extremity for use as a cemetery. Landscape architect Almerin Hotchkiss was commissioned to plan the property. He provided easy access to the cemetery from

Sheridan Road Sheridan Road is a major north-south street that leads from Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closest ...

yet contained it with natural

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

for the

Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad The Chicago and Milwaukee Railway was a predecessor of the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) in the U.S. states of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Illinois portion was chartered on February 17, 1851, as the Illinois Parallel Railroad. Its charte ...

, developed a cemetery plan in 1860. However, it provided irregularly shaped lots and a poor roadway scheme. Most plots were too small for the wealthy citizens, so the few large lots were immediately purchased. This left few options that could satisfy potential buyers. The property was transferred to the City of Lake Forest in 1863. The Lake Forest City Council issued an ordinance creating a cemetery commission on June 6, 1881. They began an official recording of burials in 1882. The commission also decided to completely redesign the property.

was tasked with developing a new roadway system. Jenney was one of the foremost Chicago architects, recently completing the First Leiter Building. He placed the new entrance to the cemetery on Lake Avenue, affording more privacy. He completely reworked the cemetery, designing a curving road system and large lots on treeless fields. Strolling pathways were installed around circles of graves. Jenney also proposed a chapel, but this was never built. The cemetery design was slightly revised in 1892 to accommodate the increased use of automobiles. Also that year, were donated to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

so that Catholics could be buried in the cemetery. In 1900,

was commissioned to improve the grounds. Simonds was a friend and former associate of Jenney and was lauded for his work designing

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...

in Chicago. His plan provided sewers and drainage, better roadways and walkways, and new burial subdivisions. His

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

design utilized native plants and offered increased privacy. The cemetery is expected to continue to accept burials until around 2050. Since the cemetery is owned by the city, only Lake Forest residents are typically approved for burial.

Notable burials

Ralph Austin Bard Ralph Austin Bard (July 29, 1884 – April 5, 1975) was a Chicago financier who served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1941–1944, and as Under Secretary, 1944–1945. He is noted for a memorandum he wrote to Secretary of War He ...

Under Secretary of the Navy Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one o ...

1944–1945 * Eda Lord Dixon, enamel artist working at the beginning of the 20th century. *

Fred Hayner Fred Ames Hayner (November 3, 1871 – January 14, 1929) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in one game, on August 19, 1890 with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the National League. He pitched four innings in relief and allowed nine ru ...

, baseball pitcher and sportswriter * John Hughes, film director * Eda Hurd Lord, businesswoman responsible for the development of Evanston. *

Keith Magnuson Keith Arlen Magnuson (April 27, 1947 – December 15, 2003) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman from Wadena, Saskatchewan who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1969 and 1979. Magnuson played 589 career NHL games, a ...

, ice hockey defenseman *

Clayton Mark Clayton Mark (June 30, 1858 – July 7, 1936), one of the pioneer makers of steel pipe in the United States, was an industrialist in the Chicago area who founded the Mark Manufacturing Company in 1888, a firm for the fabrication and sale of water-w ...

, businessman *

William Proxmire Edward William Proxmire (November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989. He holds the record for being the longest-servi ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

1957–1989 * William Henry Smith, 16th

Ohio Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corporations, etc.) and granting them the author ...

1833–1896, publisher * John Charles Stetson,

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

1977–1979 * Ezra J. Warner, author and historian *

Robert E. Wood Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notabl ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and businessman

References

External links

* {{commonscat, Lake Forest Cemetery, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Illinois Gothic Revival architecture in Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois 1857 establishments in Illinois Lake Forest, Illinois Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Cemeteries in Illinois Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Rural cemeteries