The most unique story of all Chicago area cemeteries. Located on Chicago’s Northwest side northwest of Irving Park Road (4000 North and Narragansett (6400 West), nine miles from Downtown |
14 Skeletons found under a Pickle Farm
Meet Lyman Budlong (1829-1909) a pioneer in the pickle industry, who built a massive farm of 700 acres in Bowmanville, now just a neighborhood on Chicago’s north side, centered about Lincoln and Foster. 
He grew tomatoes, onions, carrots, and lettuce but his huge money crop was cucumbers and became one of the largest supplier of premium pickles. In later years he began growing flowers in a huge number of greenhouses. And, along the way, he discovered skeletons buried on his property! Continue reading “14 Skeletons found under a Pickle Farm”
About the author
A resident for over fifty years, Barry A. Fleig is a devoted fan of all things Chicago. The streets, the maps, the buildings and the places for the dead. He has been a recognized authority on burying grounds, cemeteries, and burial sites with an emphasis on vanished cemeteries specializing in Chicago, Cook county, Lake and DuPage Counties.
His interest in cemeteries began in 1967 when he began researching his own family history.
For three years, he served on the Board of Management for the Chicago Genealogical Society, as their Cemetery Chairman. He has been the Vice-Chairman of the Association for the Ethical Protection of Burial Sites.
Mr. Fleig has aided in the identification and preservation of Russell Cemetery near Techny in Northfield Township, Cook County. His most significant accomplishment was the rediscovery, identification and research of a forgotten cemetery on Chicago’s northwest side. Mr. Fleig uncovered records and maps documenting the burial of over 38,000 bodies within twenty-seven acres of a 320 acre County Farm. The burials were made in Cook County Cemetery at Jefferson (Dunning) on property later known as the Chicago State hospital on Chicago’s northwest side. The whole story and a searchable database can be found at http://www.cookcountycemetery.com
Welcome!
If this is your first visit:
Discover great facts and stories about 272 Chicago area cemeteries. You will be surprised to find where the dead have been in and around Chicago.
803 cemetery listings:
Thumbnail information of 272 cemeteries, 258 cross references all found in the “list of all cemeteries” pages as well as over 300 Jewish cemeteries within other cemeteries, the majority in Jewish Waldheim
The blog posts
contain my best and most interesting feature stories. Most will be about the Chicago area, Chicago area cemeteries, people you should know, historical events or simply strange.
Don’t miss! I’m the kid behind the birdcage.
Growing up in Chicago in the 1950’s
or Lane Tech High School
Three LANE Schools over a Clay Pit
Read about Funeral trains serving the Cemeteries
Check out The Architecture of Death
or ROLLER COASTERS BETWEEN TWO CEMETERIES!
Don’t miss this just updated story (july 2022)
or some other popular ones An Elevator in a Cemetery! or The Battered Helmet
or even the very weird story Burial Cards: John’s left foot
There are more than 100 stories in the archives. Check back often as I have so many more stories to tell .
Don’t miss these most popular posts
“Absolutely fireproof” –A human Tragedy Iroquois Theatre Fire December 30 1903
61 years ago -December 1, 1958 Our Lady of Angels school fire
When Chicago Cried The Eastland disaster
Don’t miss these useful posts
how to find one of your missing relatives
Why are Cemeteries where they are?
Cook County Cemetery at Dunning
Grave Mistake-the Story of Cook County Cemetery at Dunning link to blog
the incredible story of how we lost and rediscovered
a cemetery containing 38,000 souls.
special note August 25, 2025
My other website, Cookcountycemetery.com is no longer online and was beyond my control It is gone due to an inept hosting service.
It had provided a wealth of information on the Cook County Cemetery at Dunning as well as the Dunning Institution . Most valuable was my database of over 8000 souls buried at Dunning. It also contained information on the “daughter” cemetery, Cook County Cemetery at Oak Forest 1912-1971.
in the near future and as time permits, i will try to migrate all that great content to this website including the database. In the meantime if you are looking for someone that might have been buried at Dunning 1871-1912, please email me and I will check my database for you at no charge. I can also help you find missing relatives that lived in the Chicago area. My fee is one Oreo cookie.
My email is bartonius84@hotmail.com
A GOOD READ about Cook County Cemetery (Dunning): Grave Mistake by Harold Henderson Sept 1989 https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/grave-mistake/Content?oid=874451
If I can help you
with your question on a burial location of a lost relative, understanding a death certificate, or any cemetery question in general, email me and I will be happy to help
More often than not, my fee is 
write me
Barry A Fleig bartonius84@hotmail.com
About this website
This is the modern version of a cemetery book research project began about 1988. After visiting hundreds of cemetery sites, libraries, and other resources, I had decided to document all burial places in Chicago and Cook County. So instead of writing about the just most obvious and large cemeteries,
Why?
There is an urgency for us to know and appreciate all of these burial places and their stories. The landscape of Cook County, Illinois is constantly changing, often at the expense of our cemeteries. Farmland has given way to shopping centers, expressways, toll roads, airports and subdivisions. Neighborhoods, and communities of yesterday have been replaced with new construction, altering our land and disguising our rich history.
Saint Johannes Lutheran Cemetery within O’Hare International Airport, perceived by the City of Chicago to “be in the way”. The entire cemetery was disinterred and all graves were moved elsewhere.
Please come back to this website often and enjoy!
THIS WEBSITE IN THE NEWS:
How do you lose a cemetery!
Barry Fleig was interviewed on Extreme Genes radio by Scott Fisher. paste into your address bar, Turn up your speakers and enjoy :
Famicity, based in France, posted November 24 2017 written by Erin Harris. https://blog.famicity.com/2017/11/preserving-cemeteries-in-chicago-illinois/?lang=en
DNAinfo was a great print and electronic media in Chicago. Check out their Oct 29 2017 Article https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20171030/west-ridge/barry-fleig-cemetery-blog-sheiners-picnic-grove
Chicago and Cook County Cemeteries 