Lake Forest Cemetery
Also known as: Evergreen Cemetery; Forest Cemetery
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Lake Forest Cemetery occupies about 23 acres on the bluffs above Lake Michigan, on the northern edge of Lake Forest, Illinois. Almerin Hotchkiss chose the site in 1857 for its rolling ground, ravines and lake views. William Le Baron Jenney revised the plat in 1882 and set out the road system still in use. In 1900-1901 Ossian Cole Simonds redesigned the grounds in the Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening, with graded open spaces, sunlit clearings, enclosing plantings and framed views. At least 50 trees from his early plantings remain. The cemetery also holds 17 contributing structures and 131 contributing objects. These include the 1919 Barrell Memorial Gate of gray limestone with wrought iron work, private granite mausoleums built between about 1906 and 1934, a columbarium and a white marble Roman-style funerary temple. The cemetery is still active and keeps the quiet, park-like character that Simonds created.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the cemetery is a well-preserved landscape designed in the Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening by Ossian Cole Simonds, building on earlier work by Almerin Hotchkiss and William Le Baron Jenney. It keeps its curving roads, open spaces and mature trees, along with notable mausoleums and the 1919 Barrell Memorial Gate. It is described as a leading example of Simonds' cemetery work.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000597, listed May 30, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1525 N. Lake Rd., Lake Forest |
|---|---|
| County | Lake County |
| Listed | May 30, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000597 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Almerin Hotchkiss (site selection, 1857); William Le Baron Jenney (1882 plat and roads); Ossian Cole Simonds (1901 landscape design) |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Classical Revival, Art Deco; landscape in the Prairie Style of Landscape Gardening |
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Art, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a cemetery, with about 7,000 full burials and 4,000 cremain burials; the city's cemetery commission maintains the historic trees. |
| Acreage | 15 |
| Within district | Lake Forest Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.26312, -87.83112 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000597.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16931884
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.