The Ridge Historical Society (RHS) is in the News – with Mt. Greenwood Cemetery
RHS is featured in a brief article in Chicago Magazine and is scheduled to be part of a podcast on Thursday.
It all has to do with the map of the 19th ward. When you look at the map of this little piece of Chicago on the far south outskirts of the city, you see a blank rectangle of unincorporated land in the ward, and that is Mt. Greenwood Cemetery. The cemetery is not incorporated into the city of Chicago, it is on unincorporated land in Cook County.
Mt. Greenwood Cemetery is in between the communities of Morgan Park to the east and Mount Greenwood to the west. Morgan Park was incorporated as a village in 1884 and was annexed to Chicago in 1914, and Mount Greenwood was incorporated as a village in 1907 and was annexed to Chicago in 1927. In all these cases of incorporation and annexation, the cemetery was not included.
To the north of Mt. Greenwood Cemetery is the Ridge Country Club, and that land apparently became part of Chicago in two stages, in 1914 and 1927.
To the south of Mt. Greenwood Cemetery is Mount Olivet Cemetery and south of that is Mount Hope Cemetery, which runs to 119th Street, Chicago’s southern boundary. Originally, none of these three cemeteries were incorporated into the city, so the land that Ridge Country Club is on formed a bridge connecting the east and west sides of the 19th ward.
However, Mount Olivet Cemetery, which is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, became part of Chicago in 1970. Mt. Greenwood Cemetery and Mt. Hope Cemetery remain in unincorporated Cook County, making Mt. Greenwood Cemetery an island in the 19th ward.
Mt. Greenwood Cemetery is the only one of the three that is entirely within the boundaries of Chicago. Mt. Olivet Cemetery borders on Chicago and Merrionette Park, and Mt. Hope Cemetery borders on Chicago, Merrionette Park, and the City of Blue Island.
Two media outlets, Chicago Magazine and WBEZ, expressed interest in this “phenomenon” recently, contacting Mt. Greenwood Cemetery and RHS with the question, why is Mt. Greenwood Cemetery not part of Chicago? They both neglected to notice that Mt. Hope Cemetery is also on unincorporated land. The cemeteries along Kedzie Avenue, Beverly, Lincoln, and Oak Hill, are also on unincorporated land.
The short answer to the question is no one knows exactly why Mt. Greenwood Cemetery never opted to annex to Chicago, but there are some possible clues.
First is the issue of taxes. Villages annexed to the city to obtain better services, and the landowners in those villages pay taxes for those services. Cemetery owners were not concerned about schools, parks, libraries, streetlights, and sidewalks. There was no reason to become part of the city and pay those taxes.
And the city had no reason to want the cemeteries. By law, abandoned cemeteries could become the responsibility of the city or village they were part of for upkeep and security. Many cemeteries in Illinois are on unincorporated ground.
To be clear, the cemetery is incorporated as a business in Illinois, but it is located on land in Cook County that is not incorporated as part of any municipality.
It was when Mt. Olivet Cemetery became part of Chicago in 1970 that Mt. Greenwood Cemetery became an island in the 19th ward. The real question is why did Mt. Olivet Cemetery annex to Chicago?
The definitive answer to that is not known either, but it could have something to do with private residences being located partially on
cemetery property. Taxes for Mt. Olivet Cemetery would not be an issue. Religious organizations are tax-exempt.
When Mt. Greenwood Cemetery sold off a corner of its property at 111th Street and California Avenue for a townhouse development, the land had to join Chicago before the residences were built.
In 2020, 19th ward Alderman Matt O’Shea expressed interest in annexing Mt. Hope Cemetery to Chicago to increase security and a police presence from the Chicago Police Department. This has not happened. Right now, both Mt. Greenwood and Mt. Hope Cemeteries are covered by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.