Historic Bolingbrook Cemetery Open for Public Tours on Memorial Day

A historic DuPage Township burying ground, Boardman Cemetery, will be open to the public for tours on Memorial Day. The gates will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Members of the Bolingbrook Historic Preservation Commission will be stationed at the Royce Road cemetery, located in the Heritage Creek subdivision, to answer questions about the cemetery's history. But first, the Bolingbrook V.F.W. and the American Legion will start off the day witha  memorial service at the cemetery at 9 a.m. At least one Civil War veteran is buried at Boardman.

The cemetery, which is the final resting place for many of the first settlers of DuPage Township, dates back to 1832. It was all but forgotten for nearly three decades until accidentally rediscovered by a curious teenager who stumbled across it in 1972. 

The burying ground is named for Captain Harry Boardman, who set aside the hillside he owned for the pioneer community's first cemetery. Under the care of the township now, the cemetery is located off Royce Road and Paxson Drive.