Alton National Cemetery

600 Pearl St., Alton, IL, 62002

GPS Coordinates: 38.890513, -90.163517
County: Madison
Record count: 571

Ownership: National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Directions: Located in the city limits of Alton, just east of downtown, take E 4th St. east to Pearl St., then turn left. Entrance to the cemetery is just a couple blocks up.

Background: Alton National Cemetery in Madison County, Illinois, originated as a soldiers’ lot within the Alton City Cemetery, where an estimated 163 Union soldiers and 12 unknowns were buried by 1870. Although used earlier, the federal government did not officially own the half-acre site until July 1, 1940, when it was donated by the Alton Cemetery Association. Plans to relocate the burials to Springfield National Cemetery were abandoned due to community opposition. In 1938, the association offered the land for a national cemetery with the condition that a permanent Memorial Day rostrum be built, which was completed by Works Progress Administration workers. Between 1941 and 1942, 49 additional Union soldiers were reinterred from another part of the city cemetery. Alton National Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 2011.

Transcriptions

We have 1 transcription for this cemetery.

Alton National Cemetery, Alton, IL