Fort Hill Cemetery
Avon Township, Lake County, Illinois
“We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”
– Abraham Lincoln from the Gettysburg Address
UPDATED 8/8/2022
This web page is dedicated to my second cousin, Ray Elliott Paddock (1946-2022).
Ray was a proud Veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was my inspiration and incentive of the Fort Hill Cemetery restoration and preservation project. ~ Vern Paddock
IN HONOR OF OUR VETERANS
buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery
The Thirty-Seventh Illinois Infantry Regiment (Click to View)
Lt. Arthur Whitney was killed in action while serving in the 37th. The story gives the reader the background of the regiment that fought in the Civil War.
“The Battle of Saigon – The Final Curtain” by David Moore, P.E. (Click to View)
PFC Clarence LeRoy Hagen, Jr. was killed in action at the Battle of Saigon and is buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery. Mr. Moore tells his first-hand experience of the battle that Japan considered the last line of defense of their country.
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FORT HILL CEMETERY
The historic Fort Hill Cemetery was officially established in 1847 and is located in Lake County, Illinois, in the southwest corner of Avon Township between the villages of Volo and Hainesville on Route 120 near Fairfield Road.
The first settlers, mainly from the East, arrived in the northeast corner of Illinois in 1833. Slowly, the early settlers trickled into the unnamed territory. This area that would become their home and community was given the name of Fort Hill Settlement in 1837.
The information provided has been compiled by Vernon B. Paddock to preserve the legacy of the Fort Hill Settlement and the individuals buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery.
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Click each of the following to view interesting information of the Fort Hill Cemetery:
- “Before” and “After” photos of the cemetery restoration
- “Before” and “After” photos of the gravestone preservation
- Fort Hill Cemetery Preservation (1 of 2)
- Fort Hill Cemetery Preservation Update (2 of 2)
- YouTube documentary video of the Fort Hill Cemetery (10:31)
- 1965 Aerial photo of the Fort Hill Cemetery
- Gravestone Symbols
- Historic Preservation Recognition Award