"Oakwood Cemetery - Joliet, IL" Waymark

Long Description:
In OAKWOOD CEMETERY, 1919 ½ Cass St., is the Oakwood Mound, situated on a steep rise of 30 ft., a conical structure 8 ft. high, extending over and area 64 by 67 feet. Excavations conducted by the University of Chicago in 1928, yielded 100 skeletons, in addition to weapons, ornaments and implements, all now exhibited at the University. There is revealed a preponderance of women and child burials, and five instances where the mother and child burials, and five instances where the mother and child were clasped in an embrace. The mound, dating back some 1,000 years contained the scattered skeletal remains of over 300 persons. The confusion in placement and the lack of uniformity of the burials, which were characterized by both flexed and full length positions, indicate a great number of sudden deaths, and a hurried disposal of the bodies, which were probably gathered in a heap and covered with earth.

Page 345; Joliet; Illinois - A Descriptive and Historical Guide

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The listed coodinates are for the entrance to Oakwood Cemetery. The current street address is now 1137 East Cass.

The Oakwood Mound is not as large as the description in the WPA Guide. I would estimate the mound to be approximately 4 feet high 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. Perhaps the earlier excavations reduced the height.

Visitors can drive right to the site. Unfortunately, the interpretive signs for the site are missing, and it is not fenced. Please respect this site as any other burial site you would find in a cemetery.

Book: Illinois Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 345 Year Originally Published: 1939

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