
With over 38,000 burials spanning some seventy years, it served as an institutional cemetery for the Cook County institutions. These consisted of the County Poor house and farm opened 1854, the Insane Asylum opened 1869, the infirmary opened 1882, and the Consumptive hospital (TB), opened 1899 and was the official Cook County potters field serving the poor and indigent of the county. The cemetery rapidly grew in size. It served as an institutional cemetery, and, more importantly, it served as the official county Potters Field for the unclaimed and unwanted dead of Chicago and Cook County. The cemetery received bodies from the Cook County Hospital, the city morgue, many Chicago area hospitals, and many city social institutions.
Cook County Cemetery at Dunning, Chicago, Illinois.
The most unique story of all Chicago area cemeteries. With over 38,000 burials spanning some seventy years, It began as a cemetery for the Cook County institutions at Dunning. These consisted of the County Poor house and farm opened 1854, the Insane Asylum opened 1869, the infirmary opened 1882, and the Consumptive hospital (TB), opened 1899 .
The cemetery rapidly grew in size and soon evolved as the official county Potters Field for the unclaimed and unwanted dead of Chicago and Cook County. The cemetery received bodies from the Cook County Hospital, the city morgue, many Chicago area hospitals, foundling homes, and many other city social institutions. It was the official cemetery serving the poor and indigent of the Cook County, Illinois from 1854 to well into the 1920’s.
And then it was forgotten. Hidden behind the fences surrounding the Dunning institution, the cemetery, without markers or stones was out of sight and out of mind until March of 1989 when builders attempted to recycle the land into houses and condos.
In May of 1989, Harold Henderson wrote “Grave Mistake” an excellent full length feature article about the beginning months of the struggle to rediscover, understand and fight for this huge forgotten burial place.
Chicago & Cook County Cemeteries
Originally 20 acres and later expanded. An estimated 38,000 people were buried here including unidentified victims of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Potter's Field, the Cook County poor Farm, Insane Asylum and Chicago State Hospital, etc.
Most of the cemetery has been plowed under and used for housing developments, a shopping mall and parking lot, etc.
All that is left is an open space called the Read-Dunning Memorial Park, with a few fragments of grave markers. No new burials have been added here since sometime in the 1920's.
From 1911-1970 Cook County also buried indigent people at the Oak Forest Cemetery and since then at Archer Woods (1970-1979) and Homewood Memorial Gardens since 1980. These people do not have grave markers.