{"nrhp_refnum":"85003219","name":"Woodlawn Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"405 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Carbondale","county":"Jackson County","state":"IL","lat":37.727129151500066,"lon":-89.21075368578713,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-12-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Woodlawn Cemetery is a city-owned cemetery on a grassy knoll at 405 E. Main Street in Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois. It was incorporated in 1854 and covers about three-fourths of a city block (2.6 acres).","why_significant":"The cemetery is tied to one of the first community-wide Memorial Day observances in America, held on April 29, 1866, and planned by Civil War veterans. It is also linked to Gen. John A. Logan, who spoke there and later, as head of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Order No. 11 establishing a national May 30 observance. The nomination cites social/humanitarian and military significance.","narrative":"Woodlawn Cemetery sits on a shaded, grassy knoll along East Main Street in Carbondale, Illinois. Incorporated by a special act of the state legislature in 1854, it was the only cemetery within the city limits and holds more than twenty Civil War soldiers. Two brick columns with ornamental ironwork mark the entrance, and a walkway loops through the grounds. On April 29, 1866, three local veterans led a gathering of more than 200 veterans and about 4,000 residents to clean and decorate soldiers' graves. Gen. John A. Logan, a Jackson County native, addressed the crowd. Ceremonies returned in 1867, 1868 and 1869. In May 1868 Logan, now commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Order No. 11, calling for annual grave decoration on May 30. The cemetery is recognized for its connection to this early Memorial Day observance and to Logan's role in making it a national tradition.","period_of_significance":"1866-1869","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site, and occupied; used as a cemetery.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.199214-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/8930/28893031/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/85003219.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003219/db7f1341d9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003219/db7f1341d9-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodlawn_Cemetery_in_Carbondale.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodlawn_Cemetery_in_Carbondale.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893031","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Carbondale,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15713025"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/jackson-county/woodlawn-cemetery-85003219/"}