Cundiff Burying Ground in DeWitt County, Illinois

Restoration Status as of August 8, 2003

The State of Illinois recently purchased a 108 acre plot of land which was added to Weldon Springs State Park. The land lies north of the present park. After the purchase, Park Superintendent Dave Herzog discovered that the land included a pioneer cemetery. After making several inquiries, it was decided to pursue a restoration project to preserve the history and remaining artifacts. The initial effort is being directed by Dr. Hal Hassen of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The burying ground lies in the Southwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 1, Texas Township about two hundred yards north and slightly east of the Weldon Springs Park Office and Maintenance Facility. The site sits on a hill top with a small spring fed stream running along it's base, 20 feet below. Several large trees stand near the perimeter and the view of the surrounding area is beautiful.

The cemetery was probably saved from oblivion by the DeWitt County Genealogical Society and particularly Bula Rainey who documented the cemetery about 1969 or 1970. Her research was published in Volume I of "DeWitt County, Illinois Cemetery Inscriptions". The Society transcribed the tombstones on the cemetery site and in addition located several stones on the nearby Ziegler farm.

Carol and I visited the cemetery in 1987 and Joe Nixon graciously led us to the site. The only stone we could find on the cemetery site was a small footstone with the inscribed initials A.C. We were ecstatic because we imagined it might have been Alcinda Cundiff's footstone. Alcinda was the patriarch of the Cundiff's and related families who arrived in the DeWitt County area in 1835 and 1836. Joe also shared the land abstract where the cemetery is located and we discovered that Alcinda had owned the land. Joe also guided us to the Ziegler farm next door and we saw several tombstones in the yard of an unused farm home.

The first activity undertaken was the examination of the creek below the cemetery. Dave Herzog was told by the previous owner, Joe Nixon, that some stones may be at the bottom of the hill. Dave and his son waded into the water with metal probes and immediately began to locate some tombstones. Most were in about two feet of water, buried under several inches of "muck". The stones have all suffered damage and many of those items recovered are fragments.

Park personnel mowed about an acre of land on top of the hill and Dr. Hassen visited the site July 17, 2003 and provided direction for further efforts. Members of the Clinton Youth Initiative Program probed a large section of the cemetery and located several stones that were buried just under the surface.

None were moved but curiosity led to the uncovering of an inscription of a large stone. It was that of Alcinda Cundiff. It provided her age at death (84 years, 7 months, 22 days) and the date of her death. We were thrilled! This was all completely new information. Alcinda brought her family to the area in 1836 and she owned the land where the burial ground lies. She was the owner when the first burials occurred. Initially it appears that it was used by the Cundiff's, Alcinda's Son-in-law, William Dye, being the first confirmed burial in 1839,but it was also used by nearby neighbors. The last burial appears to have been in 1869. Woodlawn Cemetery had been established in nearby Clinton and it appears that it became the burying ground of preference.

Since then Dr. Hassen has returned and established a benchmark (Large rock placed on the edge of the cemetery) and surveyed the cemetery. He has documented the location all those tombstones and bases remaining on the hill. He is also collecting data and photographing all of the stones that have been retrieved. He is continuing to probe the cemetery and has located additional stones.

Dave has continued to wage a one man effort to retrieve additional stones from the "slough" and he has retrieved several additional fragments of tombstones. A few are new and have never been documented.

The DeWitt County Genealogical Society has also undertaken a parallel effort in tracing the land records and researching some of the families. One member, Bob Walters, visited the site and using dowsing rods and located what he estimated were from 100 to 120 graves.