A home for county history
COLCHESTER — A small cemetery nestled in the confines of Argyle State Park is home to the history of McDonough County dating back to the early-mid 19th century.
The Atkinson McCord Cemetery is home to approximately 20 different graves of the members of the Atkinson, McCord, Yard, Russell, Bayliss, Ledgerwood, Bayliss families and a former slave.
According to Bridget Hinchee, Natural Resources Coordinator of Argyle State Park, the cemetery had been overgrown and unmaintained before the land became part of the state park. When she was an intern, she and her coworkers set out to find the cemetery and nurse it back to health after it had been worn down by the elements and various acts of vandalism.
The land where the cemetery lies was originally owned by Job Yard who was the first to be buried at the cemetery in 1839. Following Job’s death, his widow Frances Yard married Simeon Atkinson, granting ownership of the land to the Atkinson family as Frances owned the land after her husband’s death. Six members of the Atkinson family are buried in the cemetery including Simeon, Frances, J.W. Atkinson, Job, Ema Louis Yard and Isabell Yard.
The McCord family was one of the first families to settle in the Emmet Township in 1932 and is thought to have birthed the first child in the township. The McCord family moved to Illinois from North Carolina. John McCord, the patriarch of the McCord family brought his wife, Mary Willard, many of their 10 children and a former slave, known as Jack “The Black Man of McCord” to Illinois. Eight members of the McCord family are buried at the location including John, Mary, Elizabeth, Mary (granddaughter of John), Jack, James Welch, Mary Welch and William Willard.
The grave of Jack is one of the most well known gravestones in the cemetery due to the fact that he was once a slave of the family. According to Hinchee, his gravestone had been stolen multiple times by various people in McDonough County but it has been located every time.
Another of the most well known gravestones belongs to that of a Revolutionary War veteran. William Willard served in the Revolutionary War after he was raised in Leesburg, Va. and was buried at the cemetery after his death at the age of 97.
Tours of the cemetery can still be arranged through the Argyle State Park department.
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