Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, located in Bremen Township, Cook County, Illinois, is a small, abandoned cemetery in Chicago’s southwest suburbs. The cemetery has been called Bachelor Grove, Batchelor Grove, Batchelder’s Grove, and Everden (or Everdon).
It is known for its haunted reputation and supposed ghost sightings, making it a popular destination for ghost hunters and enthusiasts of the supernatural.The land surrounding Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery was originally settled by English homesteaders who relocated to the area from New England, including Stephen Rexford, one of the first wave of Anglo settlers, around 1833. In 1834, the cemetery had its first burial, and it continued to be used as a graveyard for many years.
Over time, the cemetery fell into disrepair, and many of the graves were vandalized or destroyed. In 1975, the cemetery’s last individual owner, Clarence Fulton, approached the Cook County Board about taking charge of it. He wanted their help to restore and maintain the grounds, especially after the last fifteen years of careless destruction.Today, Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is a roughly trapezoid-shaped area enclosed by the Rubio Woods forest preserve. One side is bordered by the remains of the Midlothian Turnpike, an early toll road that leads from Blue Island to points southwest.
The cemetery is the oldest in all of Cook County, with its first burial occurring around 1834.Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery has become famous in recent decades for its haunted reputation and supposed ghost sightings. In 1991, during a paranormal investigation by the Ghost Research Society, a photograph was taken that captured an apparition of a woman sitting on a tombstone, staring out into the trees. She was not present when the photo was taken.
