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Historic bone yard home yours for the asking: New funeral museum to rise in its place

The caretaker's home near Springfield IL's historic Oak Ridge Cemetery is the subject of a tug-of-war: the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency wants to keep it, the Illinois Funeral Director's Association wants to knock it down.

In its place, the funeral directors want to build a museum (perhaps they've seen the National Funeral Director's Museum in Texas). Oak Ridge Cemetery has the grave of President Lincoln -- but his tourist appeal has lagged in recent years compared to other, more recently dead, people.

The funeral directors hope the museum -- which will display pieces of Lincoln's and George Washington's coffins -- will attract more visitors to the cemetery. We're not sure who's been digging out chunks of presidential coffins, but perhaps that will be explained by the exhibit.

Preservationists cry that not only is the doomed house listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but that the proposed 5,000-square-foot museum will dwarf area homes and detract from the neighborhood.

The funeral association counters that it offered to give away the house to anyone who wanted to move it someplace else, and even offered to throw in $5,000 for expenses, but there were no takers.

If anyone wants a historic graveyard caretaker's house they should contact the Illinois Funeral Director's Association quickly; it's scheduled to be demolished in July.

[06/28/1998]
Directions:
Was SE of Illinois State Fairgrounds, at the entrance to Oak Ridge Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln is buried.
Hours:
Closed in early 2009.
Status:
Gone

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