35th Annual Tales Tombstones - Tell Self Guided Tour
Welcome, history enthusiasts and curious minds! We're thrilled to invite you on a virtual journey through time with our self-guided tour of the 35th anniversary "Tales Tombstones Tell." This blog series will take you on a captivating exploration of local history, one gravestone at a time. Each post features the script and an accompanying video recording from a different stop on the cemetery walk, allowing you to experience the rich stories and forgotten tales etched in stone. Whether you're a longtime resident or a newcomer to our community, prepare to uncover the fascinating lives, triumphs, and tragedies of those who came before us. Let's embark on this historical adventure together, as we bring the past to life through the whispers of our Oakwood cemetery.
Welcome
Interpreter: Carol Visgnes
Stop 1
Good evening. Tonight, the City Museum is excited to present the 35th Annual Tales Tombstones Tell. In this anniversary year we continue the tradition of telling some of the stories of the people and events in West Chicago’s past. The City Museum’s staff created this program in 1990 to bring the rich history of our community to life through the variety of life stories of the people buried here. Their stories are similar to the stories of many families across our country and world. 35 years of Tales Tombstones Tell could not have been possible without the help and support of the community. They have truly allowed the museum to showcase our town’s history through this landmark of Oakwood Cemetery, and in the last few years Glen Oak and Cavalry Cemeteries as well. Since 1990, much has changed in West Chicago, including the beautiful new St. Mary’s Church just across the street from Oakwood, but much has also stayed the same and we are grateful to have these landmarks that help us talk about our community’s past.
The stories you will hear tonight honor the lives of just a few residents who helped shape our community. West Chicago is currently commemorating its 175th year in existence. In 1849 three train lines crossed at the Junction that still exists today on West Washington Street near the library. A railroad town bloomed up from those tracks creating our town. The stories you hear tonight are part of the full expanse of the history of this community and the land we stand on, with a look to the very history we make each day we live our lives.
This land also has an Indigenous history, one that the City Museum is working to better tell. What acknowledge that these lands were the ancestral homelands of the Kickapoo, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Potawatomi , Myaamia, Ho-Chunk / Winnebago, and Ogala Sioux peoples. The history of West Chicago’s founding in 1849 can only be told because those Native peoples were removed from this land to make way for the settlement of Turner Junction. Tonight, you will hear this community referred to as Junction, Turner and Turner Junction. West Chicago was originally known as Junction in 1849. In 1873 we were formally incorporated as Turner, but often called Turner Junction. In 1896 the town’s name was formally changed to West Chicago. This evening you will hear all those names used interchangeably.
This ground that embodies so much of our town’s early history, Oakwood Cemetery, was founded in 1858, nine years after the railroad arrived and created our community. As West Chicago’s oldest cemetery, Oakwood represents the foundation of our community, with ties that spread to the other West Chicago cemeteries, and all over the world through ancestors and descendants.
Today we greatly value the history here in Oakwood, but the cemetery has not always been well kept. There were times when cows would come in and graze amongst the headstones. Grave markers have been vandalized, stolen, worn and broken. At various times citizen groups struggled to find ways to maintain the cemetery, even as many people buried here no longer had descendants in the area to help.
You can learn more about the history of Oakwood and those buried here at the City Museum. The Museum’s collection holds many genealogical records and staff is happy to help with research requests. If you have a question that your guide is unable to answer, you can also contact the Museum for more information. Their phone number and email address are on the program that you will receive at the end of the tour.
We now invite you to walk the lighted path. At each station you will find your guide or two by a lantern. For your safety we ask two things: Please stay on the lighted path, and please do not play with the candles or climb on the tombstones. Enjoy the evening!