Couch Tomb - Out of Place Graves on Waymarking.com

Back in 1837, the city of Chicago was geographically much smaller than it is today. What was once the far northern lakefront was deemed an ideal place for the City Cemetery, and over the next forty years, tens of thousands of people were buried there.

However, as the city grew, residents moved into the surrounding area, and the cemetery became more of a nuisance. The city set aside 80 acres for a park in 1861, named Lincoln Park in 1865. But this didn't quash the complains, and in 1863 the city began moving bodies. This was ramped up as new State legislation required all bodies to be exhumed and moved out of the park.

But the Couch family was upset about this, and legend has it that they took the city to court, contending that it would be too costly to move the above-ground mausoleum. Regardless of whether this is true, the mausoleum still stands in Lincoln Park, long after all other marked graves have been removed. (Notably, there are still bodies buried in Lincoln Park - apparently the City was not terribly diligent in removing them.)

One last note: it's not clear who or how many people are buried in the Couch Tomb. Most authorities think Ira is buried in the tomb, but guesses have ranged up to 13 people, as there are no individual names on the tomb and there are no records.

First Name: Ira Last Name: Couch Born: 11/11/1806 Died: 02/28/1857

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/08/2014 Lucky_Al visited it 06/24/2011 Metro2 visited it 04/27/2010 adgorn visited it 06/19/2008 Shorelander visited it

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