Lake County, Libertyville Township, Section 16



Lakeside Cemetery is located on north side of Lake Street just a few blocks west of Milwaukee Ave in Libertyville, Illinois. The cemetery overlooks Butler Lake.



The first settlers in Lake County arrived in the 1830's. Lakeside Cemetery was platted in 1843. At that time, Libertyville was known as Independence Grove and Butler Lake was called Independence Lake. Lakeside is the oldest cemetery in Libertyville Township and among the oldest in the Lake County. The oldest known burial at Lakeside is that of John Smith in 1844. There are many early Lake County settlers that are buried at Lakeside.



In the early days, Lake Street was just a dirt road that came west from Milwaukee Ave in Libertyville and ended at the cemetery and lake. The cemetery had an iron fence and a high frame arched gate bearing the cemetery name in front. Today the distinctive high arch with the cemetery name is all that remains of the fence and gate.



The Lakeside Cemetery Association was organized in 1910 to manage cemetery operation. The association still operates today as a 501(c)(13) organization. The association is run by volunteer board, which takes great care in maintaining and improving the cemetery. The cemetery is still active and serving the surrounding Lake County community.



There are two roads that lead into the cemetery; both are off of Lake Street. One enters and runs along the east edge of the cemetery, and the other enters near the west edge. The cemetery covers about 15 acres and is divided into sections and further into subsections.



The main sections and subsections within Lakeside Cemetery are as follows:



Old Cemetery – The Old Cemetery was first platted in 1843. The earliest known burials were in the mid 1840's. This section covers the western portion of the cemetery running along Lake Street. The subsections within the Old Cemetery include the NE ¼ (NEOC), the NW ¼ (NWOC), the SE ¼ (SEOC), the SW ¼ (SWOC), the Disney Section (DISN) and the Old Road Section (OROC). This section is mainly comprised of lots of 6 graves (1 x 6).



New Cemetery – The earliest known burials in the New Cemetery were in the late 1840's. This section covers the eastern portion of cemetery running along Lake Street. The subsections within the New Cemetery include the North ½ (NPNC) and the South ½ (SPNC). This section is mainly comprised of lots of 12 graves (2 x 6).



3rdAddition – This section is the 3rdexpansion of the cemetery and was platted in 1920. There were some burials in this section in the early 1900's before it was formally organized. The subsections within the 3rd Addition include the East Part (EP3A), the West Part (WP3A), the North Part (NP3A), the Northwest Part (NWP3A) and the Urn Garden (URNG – opened in 1996). This section is mainly comprised of lots of 48 graves divided into 4 quarters, each with 12 graves (2 x 6) but there are many lots of 24 graves in the West Part that are divided into 2 halves, each with 12 grave (2 x 6).



NW 4thAddition (NWP4A) – This section is in the northwest corner of the cemetery and was platted in 2018. There is a Veteran's Memorial in the SE corner of this section with flags flying to honor those from the community that were killed or lost in action. This section is comprised of lots of 48 graves divided into 4 quarters, each with 12 graves (2 x 6).