Riverside Cemetery (Moline, Illinois)

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Riverside Cemetery is a public cemetery in Moline, Illinois, owned by the City of Moline. It began in 1851 as Moline Cemetery, with 5 acres purchased from Samuel and Mary Bell. It sits between Fourth and Fifth Avenues near 33rd Street and was also known as the Fourth Avenue Cemetery. The first sexton was Joseph Pershing, and a board of trustees ran the cemetery.

In 1873 the city took control, and the mayor and city council appointed a board to govern it. The cemetery expanded south onto land bought from various owners. The main entrance was on 6th Avenue by the sexton’s house. Architect William Le Baron Jenney designed the hilly section, and much of the hillside area is now Riverside Park land.

Around 1909 the cemetery sold some land to the Park Committee to help fund maintenance. The Chapel Mausoleum was completed in 1916; it is Greek Revival, built of Buff stone, with 800 single crypts, 48 companion niches, and stained-glass windows.

The sexton’s house was moved to the property in 1958 and served as the cemetery office until 1983, when the office moved to Moline Memorial Park. It stopped being the sexton’s home in 1998 and now houses the Director of Moline Parks & Recreation. Since 1978 Riverside Cemetery and Moline Memorial Park have been run by the Moline Park and Recreation Department.

An annual historical walk, Echoes From Riverside Cemetery, is held each September with actors portraying people buried there; a book about the walk was published in 2010. The cemetery covers about 99 acres (40 hectares) and is located at 2900 6th Ave., Moline.