If you're planning to make a day of visiting these cemeteries, let me share with you what my sister and I did in June of 1999.  On the east end of LaHarpe and on the south side of Illinois Route 9, there's a little grocery store that has a small delicatessen.  We bought some of their freshly prepared broasted chicken, a couple of small containers of salad and some soft drinks, and took them with us.  When we made our first stop, we sat in the shade of a tree and enjoyed our impromptu picnic lunch in the neat, quiet Fountain Green Cemetery and said silent hellos to those who are resting there.  We had no way of knowing that we were soon to find the tombstones of three, possibly four, great-great-great-great-grandparents, a discovery that made the day a success far exceeding our expectations.  But even if we hadn't found them, the pleasure of that day and our picnic lunch in the peace and quietude of Hancock County countryside is a memory neither of us will ever forget.

If you decide to do the same, please take along a bag for your discards.  The local folks who care for these cemeteries keep them mowed and clean.  You'll want to take your litter with you.

I wish each of you the same kind of lovely day that Sandy and I enjoyed.

Illinois Route 9 runs east and west through LaHarpe.  Just beyond the west side of LaHarpe and just beyond where Route 94 joins Route 9 from the north, there is a southbound turn off onto a paved road to Fountain Green.  I believe there's a sign at that intersection for Fountain Green and Webster.

I think it's less than ten miles to Fountain Green.  Just before entering Fountain Green, which today is little more than a cluster of houses, the Fountain Green Cemetery is on the east side of the road.

Continuing into Fountain Green, a minute or two, at most, the road will end at a T, east-west intersection.

To reach the Lincoln, Majorville, Willis and Yetter Cemeteries, turn left/east at this intersection. You will continue on a paved road.

To reach Webster Cemetery from Fountain Green, see below.

Lincoln, Majorville, Willis and Yetter Cemeteries from Fountain Green

About a mile after this turn, watch for a sign on the right/south side of the road.  This is where the Lincoln Cemetery is located.  It is necessary to walk back along a fence row to the Lincoln Cemetery.  Until recently, this little burial area was in sad shape: stock had been allowed to move freely in the area, grave markers were knocked over and broken.  A volunteer group has gone in and done what has been reported as a fine clean up job.

Continue east (maybe a mile) until you come to a curve which will take you south, and go south for about one and a half miles until you come to County Road 1800.  A house and outbuildings are on the southwest corner.

Turn right/west at this intersection to go to Majorville and/or Yetter Cemetery.  Continue south to go the Willis Cemetery.

Majorville: from the intersection proceed west (you'll still be on a paved road) for about one mile. As you go down this road, you'll see a grove of trees to the southwest.  You'll pass an old homesite with a huge maple tree and old barn on the left/south.  Just beyond the barn, the road dips a bit, then there will be a gravel road turning south and only to the south; there is another farmhouse with outbuildings on the right/north.  Turn south onto this gravel road and proceed a very short distance to the cemetery - you'll see it.

Each time I've visited, the cemetery has been mowed.  Should you wish to spruce up the area immediately next to gravemarkers or thin out daylilies that grow in profusion around some stones, take work gloves and appropriate tools.  Watch out for poison ivy (not near the stones but around the perimeter) and by ALL means, use an insect repellent containing Deet to hold the chiggers at bay.

Yetter and/or Webster: If you wish to go directly from Majorville to the Yetter Cemetery and/or Webster and the Webster Cemetery, just drive back down the short incline to County Road 1800 and turn left/west instead of going back the way you came.  After crossing the bridge, drive slowly and watch for a small sign on the left/south side of the road.  There's a lane back to the Yetter Cemetery.  To go to Webster, keep driving west until you come to the first road where you can turn right/north.  Follow this road to the blacktop.  Turn left/west onto the blacktop and drive about one and a half miles.  See the directions to the Webster Cemetery, below.

Willis: from the County road intersection described previously, continue south past the County Road for about a mile and a half.

On the right you will pass the building which used to house the Joetta general store.  My sister and I spoke with the lady who lives in the house next to the old store.  When she and her husband first bought the property, they had hoped to restore it but they've decided against that idea.

Continue south to the next house on the right/west side.  Scott and Vickie Hardisty live here, and you might want to contact them in advance of your visit; to get to the Willis Cemetery, you must walk back through one of their fields.  The cemetery is not on their property but is adjacent to their field.  Scott and Vickie have no people buried there, but are hoping to do some clean up and reset some of the fallen stones.

The site of the old Woodville School, District 105 is just a bit further down from the Hardisty home and on the left/east side of the road.  The current building is not the original structure, of course; it is now being used as a residence.  If you were to follow this road south for three or four miles, it leads to Route 136.  From there you can go east to Tennessee, Colchester and Macomb, or west to Carthage.

Webster Cemetery from Fountain Green

From the T, east-west intersection in Fountain Green, turn right/west and stay on the paved road to reach Webster.  There may be a sign.  It's just about two miles.

Like Fountain Green, Webster today is also a cluster of houses.  The driver will see on the right/north side, a two-story building that used to be the General Store.  On the east side of this building, turn right/north for one block, turn left/west for two or three blocks until you can't go any further, then right/north again for one or two blocks.  The cemetery will be on the left/west side of the road.

It's a nice little cemetery with an iron fence around it.  Anytime I've been there, it has also been mowed and neat, with no trash or litter.