Oak Hill Cemetery (Lewistown, Illinois)
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Oak Hill Cemetery
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Edgar Lee Masters memorial at the south entrance to Oak Hill Cemetery
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| Location | 1000 Blk. N. Main Street, Lewistown, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 40°24′08″N 90°09′24″W / 40.40222°N 90.15667°WCoordinates: 40°24′08″N 90°09′24″W / 40.40222°N 90.15667°W |
| Area | Approximately 30 acres |
| NRHP reference # | 95001240 |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1995 |
Oak Hill Cemetery is located in the city of Lewistown, Fulton County, in west central Illinois. It lies along Illinois Route 97 and 100 in the 1000 block of North Main Street. The south part of the cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first cemetery in Lewistown, Illinois, was located on city lot 16, on land donated for this purpose by Ossian M. Ross, the founder of Lewistown. This cemetery was abandoned after a few years due to pressures from commercial development, and many of the bodies were reinterred in what is now Oak Hill Cemetery. The first tract of land in Oak Hill Cemetery was located in what is now the southeast corner and was approximately one acre in size. The second tract of land, north and west of the original section, was deeded to the Lewistown Cemetery Association in 1865 by Reuben R. and Ruth McDowell. Subsequent additions have brought the total size to approximately 30 acres. Only the south portion of the cemetery, an area of approximately 13 acres, is included in the National Register of Historic Places.
The first interment in Oak Hill Cemetery was Maria (Ross) Coulter, sister of Lewistown's founder, Ossian Ross. However, the dates of her death and interment are unknown. The earliest date of death on a headstone in Oak Hill Cemetery is 1829, but it is unclear whether that date refers to a new burial or to a body being reinterred from the first cemetery.
Oak Hill Cemetery is still in active use. As of 2015, there are more than 5,000 individuals interred there. Among them are some of the early settlers of the Lewistown area, including members of the Beadles, Davidson, Phelps, Ross, and Walker families. At age 108 years, Jacob Harwick (1759-1867) was the oldest person buried in the cemetery. Nathaniel Bordwine (1799-1900) is notable as being the only person buried in the cemetery who lived in three centuries.
Oak Hill Cemetery provided the inspiration for Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, and many of the characters in this work have been linked to individuals interred in the cemetery. Oak Hill Cemetery is often referred to as "The Hill," in reference to the first section of Masters' Anthology.
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