Exact location is unknown at this time; presumed location is now private property.

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A Brief History of the Graveyard of the Lady Elgin Unknown
by E. Smith

In January 1855, land along the bluff of Port Clinton was deeded for the purpose of building a lighthouse. This lighthouse, manned by Owen Monahan, had a brief life. By 1860, the light was turned off, despite Monahan's continued residency and protests to keep it lit.

In the dead of night on September 7, 1860 a group of 400 were headed to Milwaukee aboard the steamer Lady Elgin. A number of passengers had been on a military exercise, others had come down to Chicago to see Sen. Stephen A. Douglas debate Abraham Lincoln. The passengers included firemen and police, a member of the British Parliament and his son, the proprietor of the London paper Illustrated News; there were military officers, the Milwaukee City Band, and many families and their children.

It was a rough night out on Lake Michigan with strong winds and large swells. While a handful of people were still awake, many had gone to sleep in the crowded cabins aboard the ship. Just around 2:30 a.m. passengers were awoken by the startling sound of a crash. Crew suddenly notice a boat immediately alongside the Lady Elgin, but knew not if they were in need of assistance or that anything severe had happened to the steamer. Not too long after, the other boat, still not having made any contact with the Lady Elgin, had continued off into the dark night. One of the fire crew notified the captain of a leak—which was then stopped up and presumed safe. A porter was going through the ship to check for further damage and noticed water flooding into the engine room within feet of the furnaces. He ran to tell the captain, who ordered they lower a boat to come around the outside of steamer and further assess the damage. As they entered the water, passengers jumped from the steamer and came into the boat. Due to the swells, instead of coming alongside the Lady Eglin, they were pushed away toward shore which proved to be their salvation. As they drifted off, they saw the ship listing and rolling before it disappeared from sight.

Many of the passengers came ashore in Winnetka, but even more lifeless bodies came ashore at Port Clinton near the extinguished lighthouse. Most of the bodies were claimed except for a younger woman clad in black silk and gold jewelry, an infant girl (supposed to be the daughter of the woman in black), and three men. This group of five—though there may have been more—was buried in an old graveyard of early settlers by local carpenter and trapper, Henry Mowers. By 1899, the graves of early pioneers had been removed to another cemetery and the location had become a cow pasture and covered in rubbish. Still, the five graves of the unknown from the Lady Elgin remained.

Whether or not they were ever disinterred is unknown at this time. The exact location is also not certain, but it was located in section of a somewhat developed, but forgotten part of Port Clinton, which is today the northern part of Highland Park, amidst a wooded area and pastures. From the location of the graveyard, "due east as the crow flies, within the half mile" was the old lighthouse. The coordinates of the graveyard's location are approximate based on the best-known location of the lighthouse—which has long since been forgotten.

Sources:
-"Graves of Lady Elgin Dead Desecrated", Chicago Sunday Tribune (26 Mar. 1899)
-"Loss of the Steamer Lady Elgin", The Press Tribune (8 Sept. 1860)
-Scott Bundschuh, "Port Clinton Lighthouse Story", found on blog "Great Lakes Lighthouse Historian"
-Terry Pepper, "Port Clinton Lighthouse", found on blog "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses of the western Great Lakes" (2012)
-"Part of Highland Park & Fort Sheridan and Environs", map (Chicago: George A. Ogle & Co., 1907)
-"Illustrated atlas of Lake County", map (Chicago: H.R. Page & Co., 1885)