The Path to Bachelors Grove


Article below courtesy of Tinley Park Historical Society

Article courtesy of Tinley Park Historical Society

Worth Star  May 7, 1989

Article courtesy of Tinley Park Historical Society

October 26, 2001

Blue Island Sun Standard

May 11, 1989

Article courtesy of Tinley Patk Historical Society

Above article found via newspaper research sites

Article left and below located by T.P.T.B.G via newspaper archives

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to Page two of News Ariticles

Articles above and below courtesy of Tinley Park Historical Society

Orland Park Star, October 30, 1997

Above article found via newspaper research sites

Article courtesy of Midlothian Historical Society

Article courtesy of Tinley Patk Historical Society

Letter to the Editor on Bachelors Grove Cemetery

Midlothian Messenger


Right:  A 2001 letter to the editor of the Midlothian Messenger by a Ms. Dorothy Oleshko regarding Bachelors Grove Cemetery. In the midsection of the letter she states the reason that Bachelors Grove Cemetery has not been recognized by  the  state as a historical site is due to the fact that no documentation exists of a dedication making the land a legal cemetery.

In 1969 a youth group planned to do a complete restoration of Bachelors Grove, according to this news article. It never happened and to date we are unsure why exactly. Research has shown that many attempts to restore and protect this cemetery have never come pass

The Oak Forest Times

August 13, 1969



"The mammoth job of completely cleaning out and restoring Bachelors Grove Cemetery at 143rd and Ridgeland in the Forest Preserve will be undertaken by the Bremen Young Democrats, according to Richard L. Hutchinson, Vice President of the organization.

  The spot has been frequented by youths using it for drinking and partying and at one time on of the graves was dug up.

  Gary E. Hindes, president of the Bremen Young Democrats, pointed out that while young people who get into trouble are always in the spotlight , youths who try to do something constructive and try to be a credit to the community rarely receive mention. The result, he said presents an exaggerated picture of wild youth."



This Ripleys' Believe It or Not photo article featuring Bachelors Grove Cemetery was run on August 24, 1933. Evidently Mr. Ripley found it amusing that a cemetery named for Bachelors also had women buried in it. 
The article ran in newspapers across the United states, including Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina!

Report closing the Mark Tilton murder case due to Martin Myers death.

Type your paragraph here.


Chicago Tribune

                  April 19, 1965


Right and Below:

Martin Myers Autopsy Report. 

The 1935 article below, Pioneers In Peaceful Rest, is one of the few early accounts of the cemetery before the destruction of not only the physical part of the cemetery but its histroy as well. This article, (found at Tinley Park Historical Society),  was one of the central pieces in compiling burial information in Brad Bettenhauses Where the Trails Cross, supplying names and dates from incscriptions that had been erased by the vadalism of later years.

Below: Sun Standard follow up article to the above Pioneers in Peaceful rest. After reading the above article, relatives of Edward Everden, original owner of the property that is Bachelors Grove Cemetery, came forward with evidence that when Everdin sold the land to Frederick Schmidt the one acre that is Bachelors Grove Cemetery was not included, proving that the cemetery was in existence before the Schmidt family owned it. 

The Tinley Park Times

January 28, 1937

Retyped newspaper article about Luella "LuLu" Rogers hit and run accident that resulted in her death. Luella was the daughter of John Fulton Jr. and his wife Hulda Fulton buried in lot #15.

Bachelors Grove 

Bachelors Grove  Bachelors

Grove   bachelors grove  

bachelors grove  bachelors

grove  bachelors grove  

bachelors grove  bachelors 

bachelors grove

bachelors grove  

bachelors grove

bachlors grove

Southtown Star  October 30, 2011

Southtown Economist unkown date

Southtown Star

Two cover articles on Bachelors Grove 2013.


​​Chicago Press and Tribune June 30, 1859

​Chicago Tribune September 6, 1966

Chicago Tribune September 7, 1966

Gangsters In Bachelors Grove??


Two articles from prohibition era telling of a violent gang war raging over the liquor traffic in the Tinley Park Area. Two men found riddled with bullet holes. One found in a ditch and believed to have been thrown out of a car. Could this possibly be how rumors of Al Capone dumping bodies in Bachelors Grove pond started?? Read more about the legend of Al Capone and the Bachelors Grove Quarry pond here:Legends and Lore

October 21, 1927

August 10, 1928



In 1966 a man hunting mushrooms found the body of a 19 year old Gary Indiana women who had been missing since June. The body was found in Bachelors Grove, the third African American woman found dead in the areas forest preserves that year.


Chicago Tribune May 7, 1989


On April 21, 1989 , 43 year old Martin Myers body was found at the entrance to the path that leads to 

Bachelors Grove. Shot once in the abdomen and once in the head , a 20 year old ex-girlfriend confessed to the murder and then was set free in the beginning of May. 

Myers had been charged with the hit and run murder of 31 year old Mark Tilton in January of 1989. It was said that Tilton was a rival for the affections of a woman and they had publicly fought over her. There was no indication that Myers murder was connected to the incident with Tilton. 

Chicago Tribune May 4, 1989


Blue Island Sun Standard

September 11, 1952


Blue Island Sun Standard

April 3, 1958


Tragedy Surrounds  Bachelors Grove  

    Tragedy is another famous running theme in Bachelors Grove and the surrounding area.

Buried within the cemetery are so many sad stories.   Early deaths of young children. Violent accidents and suicides. Families loosing one member after another.

    Then there are the strange and mysterious deaths that have actually occurred on the grounds.  A young woman shoots and kills her boyfriend, his body found at the opening of the path to the cemetery. A Body of a young woman no one had ever seen before found tied to a fence.  A teenage girl murdered and left in the woods discovered by a local man in search of mushrooms.

What  is it about the Grove that it is surrounded by so much death and destruction ?

The Exchange

April 1983

The Fulton Family

Chances are if you've been to the grove or even just viewed some pictures, you've seen the very large standing Fulton Family headstone on lot #15  .  The Fultons were one of the first families to settle in what is now known as Tinley Park. Starting with the John Fulton Sr. family arriving via covered wagon in 1837, the Fulton family has continued to be prominent members of the Tinley Park community over the years. Fifteen members of the Fulton family are buried in Bachelors Grove. Shared here are some clippings of the Fulton family from the first settlers down to their great-grandson Clarence J. Fulton , the last official caretaker of Bachelors Grove Cemetery. 

Bachelors Grove Vandalism

Bachelors Grove Cemetery is famous for many different reasons. One of the more heartbreaking being the desecration it has endure over the years. Throughout this page are news articles documenting some of the vandalism that has taken a very big toll on the cemetery.

Chicago Tribune

April 18, 1989

Article on Fulton family as told by Clarence Fulton, the last official caretaker of Bachelors Grove.

Chicago Sun Times

October 30, 1992


The Chicago Tribune

September 14, 1973 

Seven teens caught and arrested for digging up graves in Bachelors Grove.


August 24, 1980


The Star

October 30, 1997



Suburban Tribune

December 17, 1979

Article on Clarence Fulton. Last caretaker of Bachelors Grove and great grandson of John Fulton Sr. 


The Star

October 28, 2001


Interview with John Fulton Jr. 

(Buried in Lot #15)

Pioneers in Peaceful Rest

Blue Island Sun Standard

August 16, 1935

News From the Past

Newspaper Articles and photos pertaining to Bachelors Grove and surrounding area starting with dates in the early 1900's