Elk Grove Village plans to annex the historic final resting place of a number of notable locals — including the only two known Revolutionary War veterans interred in Cook County — while launching a fundraising campaign to fix faded and sunken graves and make other upgrades.
Elk Grove Cemetery — a 38,000-square-foot graveyard tucked in between Arlington Heights Road, the Jane Addams Tollway and a Nicor gas pipeline — is a relic of pre-suburban sprawl, when pioneers arrived from the east and found expansive land to till.
Dating to the 1830s, it’s a who’s who of Northwest suburban history. Names on tombstones match those of nearby streets like Busse and Cosman. Military veterans — including those from the Civil War, World War I and World War II, too — are buried next to former fire chiefs and police constables.
The Sons of the American Revolution installed historical markers in 2014 at Elk Grove Cemetery, recognizing two Revolutionary War patriots buried there.
Daily Herald File Photo 2014
But about half the 800 plots are still available, and funerals still take place there today.
Mayor Craig Johnson — who bought plots for himself and his wife a couple years ago — has been talking almost as long with Elk Grove Township Supervisor George Busse and the private cemetery’s board of directors about incorporating the less-than-an-acre site.
It’s just a stone’s throw across the tollway on-ramp from the limits of Elk Grove Village, whose public works trucks already plow snow from the cemetery’s driveway and parking lot.
“What’s amazing about this is how many people don’t even know the cemetery’s there, yet they drive by it every single day,” Johnson said. “This is a little gem that we need to make sure people are aware of.”
Village officials want to do $750,000 worth of other maintenance — it would be funded by private donations, they say — that would preserve the cemetery’s history and increase its visibility in the community.
The proposed upgrades include repair of four or five dozen headstones, which would include resetting them in place and putting name plaques in front of the ones that aren’t legible anymore. Plans also call for installation of a large flagpole, benches, signage, new fencing and fresh asphalt.
Headstones that are out of place would be repaired, under a plan to upgrade Elk Grove Cemetery.
Daily Herald File Photo 2014
The graveyard has also been plagued by flooding since the widening of Interstate 90. But the Illinois Tollway awarded a contract for regrading work to take place this May that should drain water away from the property, Johnson said.
Johnson credited his interest in the cemetery preservation to Jane Gregga and Mary Arvidson. They are members of the local chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, which places wreaths on the graves of veterans and first responders every December.
They started coming to village board meetings at least five years ago to generate interest in the event and talk about the inhabitants who rest there.
Mary Arvidson, from left, and Jane Gregga of the Daughters of the American Revolution place flags at the grave sites of veterans and first responders buried at Elk Grove Cemetery in 2019.
Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com, 2019
That includes Revolutionary War patriot Eli Skinner, who enlisted in the Massachusetts militia at 14. Because of his young age, Skinner was given the task of playing the flute-like fife instrument as soldiers marched into battle. He didn’t arrive in Elk Grove until the end of his life, settling in the area for its good farmland. He died in 1851 at the age of 90.
Eli Skinner, who played the fife in the Massachusetts militia, is one of two Revolutionary War veterans buried at Elk Grove Cemetery.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
The other colonial-era veteran, Aaron Miner, was in the Connecticut militia, and some records indicate his unit was under the command of George Washington at Long Island and White Plains. He died in 1849 at the age of 92.
“It’s a historic place in the community,” said Johnson, a former history teacher. “It’s also a great source of pride.”
Aaron Miner, who was in the Connecticut militia and may have served under George Washington, is one of two Revolutionary War veterans buried at Elk Grove Cemetery.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
The village is now getting paperwork together to begin the annexation process. The township and cemetery officials are on board.
Plans are to rededicate the cemetery on July 4, 2026 — the country’s 250th anniversary, and Elk Grove Village’s 70th.
“It’s a special feeling being there,” Johnson said. “You don’t realize you’re right in the middle of one of the busiest areas. You’re almost secluded from that.”
