Chippiannock Cemetery
Why it's listed
Chippiannock Cemetery occupies about 77 sloping acres in southwest Rock Island, Illinois, climbing the western face of a bluff and extending across the plateau above. Landscape engineer Almerin Hotchkiss laid it out in 1855 on former farmland once tied to an American Indian site, and burials began that year. Winding drives follow the contours and create thirteen asymmetrical burial sections, with scenic views within the grounds and toward the Mississippi River. Native groves were supplemented with rare and ornamental trees, and the cemetery now lists over 1,560 trees. Contributing features include the landscape design, a Gothic Revival Sexton's House dating to about 1850, four Classical Revival mausolea and twenty-nine monuments and gravemarkers. Its significance rests on its embodiment of the rural cemetery movement and Hotchkiss's design. A 1985 landscape architecture survey described it as Illinois' oldest designed landscape. Nearly 23,000 people are buried there, and it remains an active cemetery.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the cemetery embodies the distinctive characteristics of the rural cemetery movement and is significant in landscape architecture through its siting and Hotchkiss's curvilinear design. It is described as Illinois' oldest designed landscape and Rock Island's first and only rural cemetery. Its monuments, mausolea and Gothic Revival Sexton's House also contribute.
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 94000437, listed May 6, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2901 Twelfth St., Rock Island |
|---|---|
| County | Rock Island County |
| Listed | May 6, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94000437 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Almerin Hotchkiss (landscape engineer/designer) |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival; Gothic Revival |
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Art, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still operating as a cemetery, with nearly 23,000 burials as of December 1993, and with a modern office/chapel/crematorium building. |
| Acreage | 77 |
| Coordinates | 41.48227, -90.57736 (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 94000437.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5101696
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.