Kankakee State Hospital cemetery #1
Kankakee County, Illinois, USA
NO TRESPASSING!!! This cemetery has been abandoned for decades and is heavily overgrown. This is said to be the first Kankakee State Hospital cemetery. The back story on it seems to be lost at this time but rumors of it's purpose range from it simply being the original state hospital cemetery that ran out of room, to it being used for tuberculosis victims (Kankakee state hospital had tuberculosis wards). Another rumor is that is was used for African Americans, due to segregation in the late 1800s. It is not known if there are any grave markers remaining due to theft, vandalism, or just sinking into the ground. Over the decades, there have been some issues of individuals digging up and stealing bones.
The land surrounding the cemetery and the cemetery itself are now owned by the Kankakee park district. The cemetery is located within the patch of woods, just south of the water park parking lot. it is fenced in and it is off limits to visitors. Trespassers will be prosecuted and the park district has no interest in giving anyone permission to visit it. The Kankakee park district was contacted on March 21, 2024 with an offer to have it cleaned up, free of charge, by a cemetery restoration specialist. The offer was immediately turned down.
NO TRESPASSING!!! This cemetery has been abandoned for decades and is heavily overgrown. This is said to be the first Kankakee State Hospital cemetery. The back story on it seems to be lost at this time but rumors of it's purpose range from it simply being the original state hospital cemetery that ran out of room, to it being used for tuberculosis victims (Kankakee state hospital had tuberculosis wards). Another rumor is that is was used for African Americans, due to segregation in the late 1800s. It is not known if there are any grave markers remaining due to theft, vandalism, or just sinking into the ground. Over the decades, there have been some issues of individuals digging up and stealing bones.
The land surrounding the cemetery and the cemetery itself are now owned by the Kankakee park district. The cemetery is located within the patch of woods, just south of the water park parking lot. it is fenced in and it is off limits to visitors. Trespassers will be prosecuted and the park district has no interest in giving anyone permission to visit it. The Kankakee park district was contacted on March 21, 2024 with an offer to have it cleaned up, free of charge, by a cemetery restoration specialist. The offer was immediately turned down.
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- Added: 21 Mar 2024
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2799058
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