FREEPORT, Ill. (AP) — Organizers say an ongoing research project to determine exactly how many people are buried at the Poor Farm Cemetery outside Freeport will provide officials with a valuable historical record of the site.
Mary Boeke Hill, chief deputy registrar of births and deaths in Stephenson County, recently started the project in question. Though she has not finished, Hill has so far found approximately 125 names of people believed to be buried at the site. This is already more names than officials had originally thought. Previous estimates had put the number of buried closer to 71.
My goal is to complete a report that names everybody I can find documentation on who was buried there," said Hill, who also serves as an administrative assistant at the Stephenson County Health Department and has a degree in anthropology. "I have 125 names I feel confident are probably buried there. You can never be sure, though."
Meanwhile, efforts continue to establish a large stone monument at the cemetery. The planned monument will likely have a general message engraved on it honoring those buried at the graveyard, since it would be impossible to include all the specific names, said former County Board member Sandra Kubatzke, who is helping coordinate this effort.
"It'll probably be this spring when we put the monument up," Kubatzke said.
On Tuesday, County Facilities Director Nelson Snavely completed some stone improvement work at the site, in preparation for a follow-up visit from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
County officials hope to bring IHPA specialists back to the cemetery in the near future to complete their investigation.
Before a monument is placed at the site, the IHPA will have to determine where all the remains are buried. Current plans are to establish the monument in the northeast corner of the cemetery, but that will not be possible if there are human remains in that section.
"We'll try to get them out here by the end of October before the weather gets really bad," said County Board Chairman John Blum of the IHPA specialists.
Earlier this year, county officials announced they were investigating the legalities of establishinga new stone monument at the Poor Farm Cemetery, also known as Potter's Field, which is located at the corner of Lamm Road and Illinois 26 outside Freeport.
Organizers had hoped to use a newly purchased large stone monument to replace numerous small stones currently at the site to mark the graves. They learned, however, that using the new monument to replace the old stones would be a violation of state law. The new monument, which will now likely be placed adjacent to the graveyard, is currently in storage.
Sol Detente, chairman of the County Nursing Center Committee, recently voiced concerns that the plans to establish parking on the south side of the cemetery may be in jeopardy if the monument can't be placed in the northeast corner. He said he still hopes to discuss this matter further with County Engineer Chris Isbell.
In addition, Detente said the dimensions of the cemetery need to be verified. Recently, a map of the site surfaced indicating that some graves may have been disturbed when the state widened Illinois 26 and reshaped the landscape decades ago. It's unclear how this could impact the monument project.
"When the state widened the road and reshaped the hill, it's possible they got into some graves," Detente said. "We don't know yet. We need to verify that."
Hill said she has worked on the research project in her spare time, and has found it to be fascinating. Through her research, she has determined that it's unlikely there was a mass grave at the Poor Farm Cemetery for local victims of the 1918 flu pandemic. Officials had speculated about this possibility after the IHPA visit in July.
In verifying the names of those buried at the site, Hill has utilized death certificates, the tombstones themselves, and a Poor Farm registration book. She also credited County Clerk Vici Otte, Deputy County Clerk Shannon Keister, and Nursing Center Administrator Darnell Fortney for their assistance.
"It's important if not to honor the people buried there, then at least to acknowledge their existence," Hill said.
One of the most interesting aspects of the project, Hill said, has been learning about how much the culture has changed since the Poor Farm Cemetery was used, roughly from 1853 to 1959.
The Poor Farm was officially a home for the poor and destitute, but the facility also housed the criminally insane, the mentally disabled and the injured, Hill said.
There were also a large number of unmarried pregnant women who were sent to the Poor Farm to have their children, Hill said. This was due to the considerable stigma attached to unwed mothers during that time period, she said.
"It's just a really interesting project," Hill said.
A time frame was not available for when the research project will be finished.