Chippiannock Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Chippiannock Cemetery is a cemetery
located on 12th Street and 31st Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois
. The word “Chippiannock” is a Native American
term which means “place of the dead”.
. The first board of directors of the Chippiannock Cemetery Association included Holmes Hakes, S.S. Guyer, William L. Lee, Bailey Davenport and Henry A. Porter. In 1855 Chippiannock's founders purchased 62 acres (25.1 ha) on Manitou Ridge and secured the services of noted landscape architect
Almerin Hotchkiss to design a cemetery
patterned in the rural cemetery style of Mt. Auburn
in Massachusetts
(America's first garden-style cemetery). Almerin Hotchkiss also designed Green-Wood Cemetery
in Brooklyn
and Bellefontaine Cemetery
in St. Louis
.
The property consists of a western slope and the crest of Manitou Ridge. The site also features gently rolling wooded hills that climb to a broad plateau. It is located near the midpoint between the Mississippi
and Rock Rivers. Hotchkiss designed a system of curvilinear driveways winding around the various burial sections.
The landscape design and spectacular examples of art and architecture earned the cemetery National Register
status in May 1994. The cemetery was the third cemetery in Illinois to receive this recognition.
The cemetery includes impressive monuments by Alexander Stirling Calder
and Paul de Vigne
. Many of the monuments reflect attitudes about death and mourning from the Victorian Era
. Some of the more memorable grave markers include life-size stone statues, a ship’s anchor, a six-ton granite ball, a baby’s cradle, the sleeping dog statue guarding the Dimick children and the mourning woman at the Cable monument.
The Sexton’s House is a Gothic Revival farmhouse that predates the cemetery. It continues to serve as the home of the cemetery superintendent. There are more than 25,000 people buried at Chippiannock Cemetery. The preservation of the cemetery is the responsibility of the Chippiannock Cemetery Heritage Foundation as well as other interested citizens.
's graphic novel
Road to Perdition
, which was the basis for the film of the same name
, starring Tom Hanks
and Paul Newman
.
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
located on 12th Street and 31st Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
. The word “Chippiannock” is a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
term which means “place of the dead”.
History
Rock Island was in need of a permanent cemetery in 1854. The town's population was 5,000 and the dead were being buried somewhat haphazardly in Bailey Davenport’s pasture, which is now Longview ParkLongview Park Conservatory and Gardens
The Longview Park Conservatory and Gardens is a city park with botanical garden, located at 1300 17th Street, Rock Island, Illinois. It is open daily without charge....
. The first board of directors of the Chippiannock Cemetery Association included Holmes Hakes, S.S. Guyer, William L. Lee, Bailey Davenport and Henry A. Porter. In 1855 Chippiannock's founders purchased 62 acres (25.1 ha) on Manitou Ridge and secured the services of noted landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Almerin Hotchkiss to design a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
patterned in the rural cemetery style of Mt. Auburn
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(America's first garden-style cemetery). Almerin Hotchkiss also designed Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and Bellefontaine Cemetery
Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries
Bellefontaine Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri are adjacent burial grounds, which have numerous historic and extravagant tombstones and mausoleums. They are the necropolis for a number of prominent local and state politicians, as well as soldiers of the...
in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
The property consists of a western slope and the crest of Manitou Ridge. The site also features gently rolling wooded hills that climb to a broad plateau. It is located near the midpoint between the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Rock Rivers. Hotchkiss designed a system of curvilinear driveways winding around the various burial sections.
The landscape design and spectacular examples of art and architecture earned the cemetery National Register
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
status in May 1994. The cemetery was the third cemetery in Illinois to receive this recognition.
The cemetery includes impressive monuments by Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder was an American sculptor and teacher; son of the sculptor Alexander Milne Calder, and father of the sculptor Alexander Calder...
and Paul de Vigne
Paul de Vigne
Paul de Vigne , Belgian sculptor, was born at Ghent. He was trained by his father, a statuary, and began by exhibiting his Fra Angeico da Fiesole at the Ghent Salon in 1868. In 1872 he exhibited at the Brussels Salon a marble statue, Heliotrope , and in 1875, at Brussels, Beatrix and Domenica...
. Many of the monuments reflect attitudes about death and mourning from the Victorian Era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. Some of the more memorable grave markers include life-size stone statues, a ship’s anchor, a six-ton granite ball, a baby’s cradle, the sleeping dog statue guarding the Dimick children and the mourning woman at the Cable monument.
The Sexton’s House is a Gothic Revival farmhouse that predates the cemetery. It continues to serve as the home of the cemetery superintendent. There are more than 25,000 people buried at Chippiannock Cemetery. The preservation of the cemetery is the responsibility of the Chippiannock Cemetery Heritage Foundation as well as other interested citizens.
Popular Culture
It is an important location in Max Allan CollinsMax Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer. He has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations and historical fiction. He wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition , created the comic book private eye Ms...
's graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition (comics)
Road to Perdition is a series of fictional works written by Max Allan Collins.The comic book of the original series, with art by Richard Piers Rayner, was published by DC Comics' imprint, Paradox Press...
, which was the basis for the film of the same name
Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition is a 2002 American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig...
, starring Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
.
Notable Chippiannock burials
- Napoleon Bonaparte BufordNapoleon Bonaparte BufordNapoleon Bonaparte Buford was an American soldier, Union general in the American Civil War, and railroad executive. He was the half-brother of the famous Gettysburg hero, John Buford, but never attained his sibling's military distinction.-Birth and early years:Buford was the son of John and Nancy...
(1807–1883), American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Brigadier GeneralBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000... - Benjamin T. CableBenjamin T. CableBenjamin Taylor Cable was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, Cable moved with his parents to Rock Island, Illinois, in September 1856. He attended the public schools and Racine College , Racine, Wisconsin. He was graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann...
(1853–1923), U.S. House of Representatives, 1891-1893 - Ransom Reed Cable (1834–1909), president of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadChicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadThe Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
- Frederick DenkmannFrederick DenkmannFrederick Denkmann was an American lumber baron based in Rock Island, Illinois. He teamed up with his brother-in-law Friedrich Weyerhäuser and formed Weyerhäuser-Denkmann Lumber Company.-Early life:...
(1824–1905), co-founded Weyerhauser-Denkmann Lumber Company with Frederick Weyerhauser - William H. GestWilliam H. GestWilliam Harrison Gest was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born in Jacksonville, Illinois, Gest moved with his parents to Rock Island in 1842.He was graduated from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1860....
(1838–1912), U.S. House of Representatives, 1887-1891 - William HoffmanWilliam Hoffman (U.S. Army)William Hoffman was a 19th century officer in the United States Army. The West Point graduate was involved in the Black Hawk War, Seminole Wars, Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. During the Civil War he served as the Commissary-General of Prisoners and set policy for the treatment...
(1807–1884), American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
BrevetBrevet (military)In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Major GeneralMajor general (United States)In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general... - Minnie PotterPotter House (Rock Island, Illinois)Potter House is an historic building located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. It was designated a Rock Island Landmark in 1987, listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, and became a part of the Broadway Historic District on the national register in...
(1865–1936), president and CEO of the Argus, a daily newspaper - Chester C. ThompsonChester C. ThompsonChester Charles Thompson was an Illinois politician who represented Illinois' 14th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1933 to 1939. Before serving in Congress he served the people as Rock Island County Treasurer and as mayor of Rock Island.-Early life:Thompson was born...
(1893–1971), Mayor of Rock Island, U.S. House of Representatives, 1933-1939 - Benjamin Dann WalshBenjamin Dann WalshBenjamin Dann Walsh was an American entomologist, serving as the first official state entomologist in Illinois from 1867 to 1869.He was born in Worchestershire, England and graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge....
(1808-1869), First Illinois State Entomologist - Frederick Weyerhauser (1834–1914), founded the Weyerhauser Company
Further reading
- “150 Years of Epitaphs at Chippiannock Cemetery”. Rock Island, Ill.: Chippiannock Cemetery Heritage Foundation, 2006.
- “Passages: A Collection of Personal Histories of Chippiannock Cemetery”. Bettendorf, Iowa: Razor Edge Press, 2006.