Chicago, Rosehill Cemetery

Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1864) is a Victorian era cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, USA, and at 350 acres (1.4 km2), is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. The name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the area was previously called "Roe's Hill", named for nearby farmer Hiram Roe. He refused to sell his land to the city until it was promised that the cemetery be named in his honor. It is located in the north east section of the Lincoln Square community area.

Rosehill's Joliet-limestone entrance gate was designed by William W. Boyington, the architect of the Chicago Water Tower and the Old University of Chicago, who is buried in Rosehill. The Rosehill Cemetery Administration Building and Entry Gate was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Like its sister cemetery Graceland, Rosehill is the burial place of many well-known Chicagoans. The cemetery contains many monuments that are notable for their beauty and eccentricity, such as that of Lulu Fellows.

Several graves from the old City Cemetery, originally located in what is now Lincoln Park were relocated to Rosehill. Some of the gravestones and monuments were also moved to Rosehill Cemetery and can be seen.

Rosehill Mausoleum

Dedicated in 1914, Rosehill Mausoleum was designed by architect Sidney Lovell. It is the largest mausoleum in Chicago and has two levels, the lower level being partially underground. The interior is constructed almost entirely of marble. The floors are Italian Carrara marble. There are many small family-owned rooms with heavy bronze gates. Some of these private rooms feature stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany among other artists. Richard B. Ogilvie, Governor of Illinois, is entombed near the ceiling in the west part of the Mausoleum. Other notables include Aaron Montgomery Ward and his business rival Richard Warren Sears.

Civil War Memorials

Civil War buffs have long been attracted to Rosehill, where approximately 350 Union soldiers and sailors and at least three Confederates who gave their lives in service are entombed. It is the final resting place for several members of the 8th Illinois Cavalry, the unit that fired the first shots in the Battle of Gettysburg, and of a general whose troops helped Ulysses S. Grant avoid surrender in the Battle of Shiloh, Grant's first major engagement of the war. Rosehill Cemetery maintains the distinction of being the largest private burial ground of Union veterans, including 16 generals, in the state of Illinois. To honor those who fought for country and cause, Rosehill officially opened its own Civil War Museum on January 15, 1995.

Chicago Volunteer Firefighter's Memorial

A monument "To Honor All the Courageous Volunteer Firefighters of Chicago" was erected in Rosehill Cemetery in 1864. The monument, designed by Leonard Volk, features a vigilant fireman standing atop a tall column. A fire hose is wrapped around the base. Four old-style hydrants make up the corners of the memorial. The granite marker at the base contains the names of all firefighters killed in the line of duty.

In film

Rosehill was featured in the film Next of Kin (1989). The funeral scene in Backdraft (1991) takes place at the Volunteer Firefighter's Monument at Rosehill, but was actually filmed elsewhere using a replica of this monument. Lulu Fellowes (the girl in the glass box) also appeared in the film U.S. Marshals (1998).

Fireside Restaurant & Lounge

The roadhouse now known as the Fireside Restaurant & Lounge has stood across from historic Rosehill Cemetery for more than a century. It is one of the oldest continuously operating taverns in Chicago. The original tavern once served traveling farmers and mourners alike, even offering accommodations.

West Ridge Nature Preserve

In 2015, the Chicago Park District Park No. 568 - West Ridge Nature Preserve was established along the north western edge of Rosehill Cemetery. The park land, which was once part of the cemetery, features 20.585 acres of restored woodland, native plants, boardwalks, a 4.5 acre pond, a multipurpose trail around the park with elevated overlooks, educational and interpretive signage for easy identification of plantings, fishing stations and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Notable burials

• James Aldrich, U.S. Congressman, Illinois 1st Congressional District (1893–1897)
• William Aldrich, U.S. Congressman, Illinois 1st Congressional District (1877–1883)
• George Bell, Jr., United States Army Major General who commanded the 33rd Infantry Division in World War I
• John Lourie Beveridge, Illinois Governor (1873–1877)
• Lester L. Bond, Chicago Mayor (August–December 1873)
• Levi Boone, Chicago Mayor (1855–1856), anti-immigrant American Party (a.k.a. The Know-Nothing Party)
• William W. Boyington, architect, Chicago Water Tower, entrance gate of Rosehill Cemetery
• Jack Brickhouse, Hall of Fame sports broadcaster
• Avery Brundage, athlete, construction, president U.S. and International Olympic Committees (USOC and IOC)
• Henry Buker baseball shortstop. right fielder 1884 Detroit Wolverines
• Leo Burnett, advertising executive, founded Leo Burnett Worldwide
• Edward Dean Cooke, U.S. Congressman, Illinois 6th Congressional District (1895–1897)
• Joseph Cummings president Wesleyan University (1857–1875), president Northwestern University (1881–1890)
• Albert Blake Dick, founder A.B. Dick Company, coined the word "mimeograph"
• Jim Dooley, Chicago Bears football player, coach
• Harvey Doolittle Colvin, Chicago Mayor (1873–1875)
• Dewitt Clinton Cregier, Chicago Mayor (1889–1891)
• George R. Davis, U.S. Congressman, Illinois (1879–1885), Director General, World's Columbian Exposition
• Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President of the United States
• Martin Emerich, Maryland House of Delegates, U.S. Congressman, Illinois 1st Congressional District (1903–1905)
• Charles Benjamin Farwell, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator from Illinois
• Milton S. Florsheim, founder Florsheim Shoe Company
• Mimi Forsythe, actress "Three Russian Girls", "The Bridge Of San Luis Rey"
• Bobby Franks, murder victim of Leopold and Loeb
• Lyman J. Gage, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1897–1902), banker, president of the World's Columbian Exposition
• Augustus Garrett, Chicago Mayor (1843–1844, 1845–1846)
• Samuel Robert Gibson, folk singer "Gibson and Camp at the Gate of Horn"
• Solomon Harry Goldberg, founder Hump Hairpin Manufacturing Company, patented hairpin made with ridges
• Harry Grabiner, Major League Baseball executive, first general manager of Chicago White Sox
• Elisha Gray, inventor, founder Western Electric
• Dwight H. Green, Governor of Illinois (1941–1949)
• Charles Frederick Gunther confectionery manufacturing magnate, created Cracker Jacks
• John Charles Haines, Chicago Mayor (1858–1860)
• John D. Hertz, founder Yellow Cab, Hertz Rent-A-Car
• Otis Hinckley, co-founder Hinckley & Schmitt
• Ida Sophia Hippach, R.M.S. Titanic survivor
• Jerome Holtzman, Baseball Hall of Fame sportswriter, known as "The Dean" of baseball press boxes
• Nat Hudson, Major League Baseball pitcher (1886–1889) for the St. Louis Browns.
• Charles J. Hull, real estate magnate, Hull House owner
• Edgar Allan Jonas, U.S. Congressman Illinois 12th Congressional District (1949–1955)
• Edward Jump, artist, cartoonist
• John H. Kedzie, lawyer, real-estate developer, politician (namesake: Kedzie Avenue, Chicago's West Side, Kedzie Street, Evanston)
• Harry Stephen Keeler, pulp mystery writer, "The Case Of The Barking Clock, "The Man With The Magic Eardrums"
• James Scott Kemper, founder Lumberman's Mutual Casualty Company, predecessor of Kemper Corporation
• Edward N. Kirk, brigadier general Union Army, American Civil War
• Philip Knopf, U.S. Congressman Illinois 7th Congressional District (1903–1909)
• Leonidas Lee, Major League Baseball player, 1877
• Benjamin F. Lindheimer, Chicago horse racing and football executive
• Sidney Lovell, architect Rosehill Mausoleum
• Alexander Loyd, Chicago Mayor (1840–1841)
• Benjamin Drake Magruder, Illinois Supreme Court Justice
• George W. Maher, architect, Prairie School-style
• Robert Marsh, victim in the Herrin Massacre (unmarked grave)
• Roswell B. Mason, Chicago Mayor (1869–1871), mayor during Great Chicago Fire
• Victor Andre Matteson, architect Cardinal Hill Reservoir
• Oscar F. Mayer, business magnate, founder Oscar Mayer Company
• John McArthur Union general, American Civil War
• Edward McWade, actor "Arsenic and Old Lace", "Yankee Doodle Dandy", "Mr. and Mrs. North"
• Margaret McWade, actress "Pixilated Sisters", "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town"
• Robert McWade, theater, film actor "Grand Hotel", "The Lemon Drop Kid"
• Darius Miller, railroad president
• Isaac Lawrence Milliken, Chicago Mayor (1854–1855)
• Buckner Stith Morris, Chicago Mayor (1838–1839)
• Richard B. Ogilvie, Governor of Illinois (1969–1973)
• Martha O'Driscoll, actress "Li’l Abner", "Ghost Catchers", "House of Dracula", "The Daltons Ride Again", "Under Western Skies"
• George Arthur Paddock, U.S. Congressman Illinois 10th District (1941–1943)
• Legrand Winfield Perce, U.S. Congressman (1870–1873)
• Eliza Emily Chappell Porter, first school teacher in Chicago (1835), established schools for African American children in the south
• Thomas E. G. Ransom, brevet major general in the US Civil War, division commander in the Thirteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps, died 1864
• Henry Riggs Rathbone, U.S. Congressman, Illinois Congressman At-Large (1923–1928)
• Ira G. Rawn, railroad president
• John Blake Rice, Chicago Mayor (1865–1869)
• Bruce Roberts, television pioneer, longtime WBBM-TV weekend sportscaster
• John A. Roche, Chicago Mayor (1887–1889)
• Julius Rosenwald, merchant, early partner with Sears, founded the Museum of Science and Industry in Jackson Park.
• Morris Sachs, entrepreneur, Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour radio program
• George Joseph Schmitt, co-founder of Hinckley & Schmitt bottled water
• Reinhart Schwimmer, gangster, St. Valentine's Day Massacre victim
• Ignaz Schwinn, founder Schwinn Bicycle Company
• Richard Warren Sears, founder Sears Roebuck and Company
• John G. Shedd, philanthropist, founder Shedd Aquarium
• Milton Sills, actor "The Heart Bandit", "The Hawk's Nest", "The Sea Wolf"
• Byron Laflin Smith, founder Northern Trust Company
• William Grant Stratton, Illinois Governor (1953–1961)
• George Bell Swift, Chicago Mayor (1893, 1895–97)
• Edmund Dick Taylor, "Father of the Greenback"
• Charles Marsh Thomson, U.S. Congressman Illinois 10th District (1913–1915)
• Narcissa Niblack Thorne, designer Thorne Miniature Rooms, Art Institute of Chicago
• Burr Tillstrom, puppeteer, creator Kukla, Fran and Ollie
• Daniel Brink Towner, hymn composer "Trust and Obey", "Grace Greater than our Sin", "Saved by the Blood of the Crucified One"
• Robert Twyman, U.S. Congressman Illinois 9th District (1947–1949)
• Leonard W. Volk, sculptor, notable for making one of only two life masks of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
• E. S. Wadsworth, co-founder Wadsworth, Dyer & Chapin, namesake Wadsworth, Illinois
• Martin R. M. Wallace, Union brevet brigadier general, American Civil War
• Aaron Montgomery Ward, founder Montgomery Ward and Company, world's first mail order bus
• John Wentworth (nicknamed "Long John"), U.S. Congressman, mayor of Chicago, tallest obelisk in the cemetery
• George Elon White, U.S. Congressman Illinois's 5th District (1895–1899)
• Julius White brigadier general Union Army, American Civil War
• Frances Willard, temperance leader, suffragist, President Women's Christian Temperance Union
• Ned Williamson, Major League Baseball player, 1878–1890
• Henry Haven Windsor, founder, publisher Popular Mechanics magazine
• Charles Walhart Woodman, U.S. Congressman Illinois 4th District (1895–1897)
• Arnold zu Windisch-Graetz, pastor Concordia Lutheran Church of Chicago, prince Royal House of Windisch-Graetz