Welcome to West Peoria

St. Mary’s Cemetery

by Marsha Miller

According to the Peoria Journal Transcript, February 16, 1926, the entrance to St. Mary’s Cemetery was

known as “Nature’s Cathedral and proclaimed as one of the most impressive views in America.” At that

time, a long double row of beautiful trees extended down both sides of the main drive. In the distance,

standing just inside the entrance to the section known as “The Heart" is a magnificent mausoleum built

in the style of Bishop Spalding’s pillared family home in Kentucky. The name “Spalding” extends across

the front over two massive bronze gates.

Peering through the main doors of the mausoleum, one can see eight crypts, four on each side, faced in

Alabama marble. On the second crypt from the bottom on the right, letters, chiseled and backed with gold

read, “Rt. Rev. John Lancaster Spalding, D.D., January 2, 1840 - August 25, 1916.” The landscape architect,

A.B. Carpenter of Galesburg, designed the layout of the cemetery around “The Heart,” a heart-shaped lot

in the center of the cemetery. This area is used exclusively for the interment of the members of the priest-

hood and the Catholic orders.

The founding of this cemetery began in 1881, when Bishop John Lancaster Spalding bought forty acres of

land located in the NW ¼ Section 7, Lots 19-22-27 and 30 on Sterling Avenue, then the western edge of

the city. Due to an apparent need for more room for the burial of the Catholic dead of Peoria, the “new” St.

Mary’s Cemetery was established to replace the “old” St. Mary’s Cemetery, then located between the Rock

Island Railroad and North Adams Street opposite Spitznagle, and the former Tinker and Woodlawn Streets.

When the bodies were moved from the old to the new St. Mary’s Cemetery, most graves did not have

markers or the markers had been lost. Therefore, many graves in the new cemetery do not have markers.

Also, the original records from about 1855 to about 1900 were lost.

Bishop Spalding was so devoted to the project that he frequently rode his horse the 5 ½ mile round trip to

observe its progress first hand. In addition to his other responsibilities, the Bishop took a personal interest

in planning this new burial ground and specifically directed that numerous flower gardens be included.

Even 100 years later, flowers bloom in over 20 locations in the cemetery. However, the elm trees that he

had planted along the main roadway were removed during the 1930’s and 40’s because of Dutch Elm

disease. Before they were removed, these trees grew to form a shaded archway so beautiful that the 1926

article in the Peoria Journal Transcript described the view as “one of the most impressive views in America.”

One of the many other impressive memorials in the cemetery is a circular plot located about 100 yards west

of the “Heart” and known as the Henebery family lot. This unique burial place is surrounded by a concrete

coping, 26 feet in diameter. Encircled within this area is the resting place of Matthew and Mary Henebery

(1903 and 1912) and 31 of their family members.

About 1915, the stone pillars that now form the entrance way were erected by the Charles Bourke family in

memory of Patricia K. Bourke. A granite marker placed inside the gate which extends across a 12-foot wide

opening refers to this opening as a symbol of the straight and narrow path that must be followed to enter the

heavenly gate.

Another special feature in this scenic, two level cemetery is the rock wall that links the main upper level to

the peaceful lower elevation. This wall, constructed in the early 1950’s, was a labor of employment as well

as a labor of love by many cemetery workers. The wall was constructed under the direction of James Flynn,

who served for 40 years as the cemetery’s sexton, and others including John “Bud” O’Connor, Bob Holman,

and Patrick Ennis.

The stone boulders used to form this wall came from the creek bed that runs through the cemetery. This

400-foot long wall borders an area of spectacular natural beauty. The hillside features many wild flowers in

the spring and two majestic oak trees (both nearly 14 feet in circumference), believed to have been alive

when Father Marquette first canoed down the Illinois River over 300 years ago.

There are several Civil War soldiers buried at St. Mary’s. One special marker is the Halligan Stone, which

marks the grave of Thomas Halligan, who arrived in Peoria from Ireland at the age of six. In 1851, Anastasia

Walsh Halligan brought her young son Thomas, her two other sons, and her three daughters to join her

husband, also named Thomas. The elder Thomas and the couple’s other two daughters had arrived a year

earlier to prepare for the arrival for the rest of the family. Little did young Thomas know that he would later be

embroiled in a vicious bloody war fought for the preservation of his adopted country.

As fate would have it, in 2003 (152 years after young Thomas arrived in Peoria), Randy Gibbs, Thomas’

great-great grandson, an avid student of the War Between the States and a Civil War re-enactor, came

upon Thomas’ gravestone, which identified Thomas as a Civil War veteran. When the stone was found in

St. Mary’s Cemetery, it was lying on its back on the ground. It was broken at an odd angle, the edges covered

over with the growth of the ages. Feeling it was a shame that a soldier of such history (and his own relative)

had been forgotten in such a way, Gibbs decided to rectify the situation. A worker at the monument company

felt that the stone could not be repaired but decided to replace it with an exact replica. A rubbing of the stone

was taken and sent to an engraver.

The white marble replica finally arrived from South Carolina and now shines brightly among the reminders of

those others who came from Ireland to a country of hope and of those who fought to maintain that hope. The

original stone was placed in the museum collection at the G.A.R. Hall in Peoria.

Among the many pioneers of the Catholic faith buried at St. Mary’s are Newton and Delia Sheen (1944 and

1943), the parents of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.

In September 1999 Bishop Edward W. O’Rourke’s body was placed in the Bishop’s mausoleum, the fifth

bishop of the Peoria Diocese to be entombed in the stately granite structure. His crypt is engraved “Friend

of the Poor.”

Also, OSF Healthcare provides a final resting place at St. Mary’s Cemetery for any babies lost between

conception and 23 weeks. At memorial services held every March, June, October, and December each

baby’s name is read. Parents and family members are invited and encouraged to attend. There is no cost

for these community burials, but no individual headstones are provided.

Note: Research for the history was reproduced from articles in The Catholic Cemetery News

and an article by Gordon Cundiff (St. Mary’s Cemetery Executive Director 1990-2000).