Downers Grove Main Street Cemetery, Downers Grove

In 1856, Samuel Curtiss donated part of his sheep pasture for use as a cemetery. He was later paid $15 for the land, money from individuals who formed a cemetery association in 1864. Nearly 100 members of Downers Grove’s early families, including Israel Blackburn, a freedman, and members of the Blanchard, Curtiss, and Wells families are buried here. The cemetery was used until 1939 when Emma Foster Miller was the last to be interred. It is one of the few American cemeteries located in any main business district.