Midewin's Pioneer Cemeteries offer glimpse of farming past




Klingler Pioneer Cemetery, on the grounds of Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, offers a glimpse of Will County's farming past.  Klingler Cemetery is one of six pioneer cemeteries maintained by the National Forest Service.  Midewin's website also offers pictures, maps, and an index of everyone buried within the pioneer cemeteries.

The Klingler Pioneer Cemetery is located on the east side of Midewin, just off the Wauponsee Glacial Bike Trail, which lies on the old Wabash Railroad, viewable on the map below.

Midewin consists of land that was the Joliet Arsenal Ammunition Plant.  The federal government bought approximately 450 small family farms, consisting of about 40,000 acres  in order to create the Joliet Arsenal.

Below is the newspaper record of the sale of the Klingler land to the USA.




The Midewin trail to the cemetery is lined with hedge trees, which were planted by pioneer farmers in order to have lumber, and some considered the hedge a living fence.

The cemeteries stand as a reminder of the people who had created communities on the prairie.  As seen in this 1909 plat book, several schools and residences existed on the land that would become the Joliet Arsenal.




Popular posts from this blog

Will County Emergency Management Agency Coordinating Migrant Bus Arrivals in Will County Suburbs

Image
  After reports of buses from Texas dropping off asylum-seekers at Metro stations in Will County, the Will County Emergency Management Agency released the following press release : "The Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is working to provide information and coordinate with municipalities and state agencies as the Chicagoland region is experiencing an increase in buses transporting asylum-seekers from the State of Texas. “Our municipalities have seen an increase in buses from Texas disembarking passengers at Metra stations and other locations throughout the county,” said Will County EMA Director Allison Anderson. “We are working to coordinate information between public safety agencies, the State of Illinois, and the City of Chicago. Our priority is ensuring humane transportation of asylum-seekers to the official Chicago landing zone.” An official landing zone for asylum-seekers is being operated by the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication at
Read more

Local VFW Post Joins Work to Keep Gemini Giant in Wilmington

Image
The Wilmington VFW Post is joining the local effort to keep the Gemini Giant in Wilmington.  The statue is up for online bid at the Grafe Auction website . Wilmington's VFW Post 5422 posted to their Facebook page on March 8, 2024 that: " The Wilmington VFW Post 5422 along with Save the Gemini Giant have teamed up to make an effort to keep the Gemini Giant in Wilmington and relocate it 1 mile west on Route 66 to the VFW.  We need your help. "   Read the full post here . The Gemini Giant has greeted Route 66 travelers to Wilmington for decades:
Read more