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| Ridge Cemetery - Williamsburg Hill, Illinois |
Nearly two years
ago, I wrote a blog post about visiting an area in Illinois that was once known
as Williamsburg Hill. When the railroad
bypassed the town in the late 1880s and the stagecoach line ceased to exist,
residents deserted the village out of necessity. The only thing remaining from that era rests
on the hill itself: Ridge Cemetery.
After viewing that
beautiful and, yes, strange place, I decided I’d found the perfect setting for
my next book. Fictional townspeople have
come alive in Williamsburg and Ridge Cemetery plays a prominent role in my
story. The first draft is finished and is
now undergoing rewrites. While I’m happy
to share the status of my book, which is titled Williamsburg Hill, I’d also
like to share something else.
In March of this
year, vandals struck Ridge Cemetery.
Three adults and one juvenile from nearby towns were eventually arrested
and face felony counts of unlawful vandalism of a gravestone. According to a Go Fund Me Page that was
started to cover the cost of repairs to the cemetery, approximately 122
headstones were knocked over and damaged.
The news reported destruction was done to some tombstones weighing more than
a thousand pounds.
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| Only road to Ridge Cemetery |
Fortunately,
enough money was raised to reset the stones, the brush was cleared, and the
grounds were cleaned. I visited the area
again in May of this year for a bit of last minute research, and wasn’t aware
of the destruction that had occurred just two months prior. It was only a few weeks ago that I was
informed of what had happened. Kudos to
the special volunteers who worked diligently in a short amount of time to
restore the grounds to a place deserving of respect and honor, not one of
contempt.
While the cemetery
is isolated and difficult to find if you don’t know the area, it is open for
anyone to visit. There have been stories
of odd events that supposedly occurred there over the decades, which more than
likely attract the strange and curious sorts.
For all of the tales that might scare or intrigue about this nineteenth
century place, it seems the only thing to fear are those living and breathing
folks who wish to do damage.
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| Surname used in my book |
Ridge Cemetery and
Williamsburg Hill spoke to me of a rich background that didn’t evolve into
anything greater, but simply ended. The
idea to visit took root as a story to write and I love history. So seeing the cemetery appealed to me,
especially because I thought it had something to say. And it does.
One doesn’t have to write a book to hear it. It speaks of families, hardships, lives lost
suddenly, prosperity, tragedy, long years of existence, illness, stillbirth and
disease. It whispers of differences
during life, but shouts that in the end everyone ends up in the same place
together. It exists as a reminder of
those who came before us, and a place all of us will eventually face. We should listen because it has a lot to say.
The volunteers who
worked hard to restore it after the recent destruction know this. It’s unfortunate that some with nothing but
anger inside of them do not.
