Village of Prairie City - John Oakman, mayor of Prairie City, recently accepted a new sign for the Old Prairie City Cemetery donated by the McDonough County Historical Society. Old Prairie City Cemetery is northeast of Prairie City, along the Warren County line. Although the cemetery land is in Warren County, the graves are of Prairie City, McDonough County residents. In the 1980s, a group of Prairie City citizens devoted many hours of difficult labor rescuing this once abandoned and neglected cemetery. From that time on, the Village of Prairie City has maintained this resting place of about 65 graves. Approximately 32 of the 65 headstones mark the graves of children under nine years of age. The first burial was Elizabeth Metcalf in 1856. The last recorded funeral was for W.G. Patten, who died January 15, 1899. When the newer and current Prairie City Cemetery was established in 1866, many graves were moved from the old to the new cemetery. But the Old Prairie City Cemetery remained active until 1899. Ephriam Tipton (1794-1869) fought in the War of 1812. Two veterans of the Civil War are buried here: Joseph Baumgartner and Mathew McComb. The cemetery sign project is supported by the McDonough County Genealogical Society and the McDonough County Historical Society.
The McDonough County Historical Society Markers Project
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