This granite Celtic cross is similar to the one planned for the Irish workers grave site.

By Michael G. Matejka

Railroad work has always been hard and difficult, physical labor that takes its toll whether done in the blazing sun, winter snows or deepest night. Workers today, however, enjoy improved conditions thanks to union contracts. In central Illinois remains a stark reminder of how difficult a railroader's life once was.

Nestled among the falling leaves at Funk's Grove cemetery, 12 miles south of Bloomington, Illinois are two strips of unmarked graves, 10 feet wide by almost 40 feet long. There lie approximately 50 Irish workers, victims of difficult railroad construction conditions 150 years ago.

A central Illinois effort is mobilizing to mark those graves, a memory to the hard conditions immigrant workers faced.

In 1853 Bloomington, Illinois was bustling with anticipation, the coming railroads meaning economic opportunity for the small outpost. That spring the Illinois Central Railroad, building south from Freeport, Illinois reached Bloomington. And in October the Alton and Sangamon Railroad, building northward from Springfield, Illinois reached Bloomington.

Today the Illinois Central's roadbed is a bike trail. The Alton and Sangamon is the Union Pacific Railroad, running from Chicago to St. Louis, used by Amtrak and regular freight trains.

Forgotten are the dismal conditions and hard physical labor that built railroads and canals before the Civil War. Hungry and impoverished Irish laborers were the preferred workforce. The grunt work of digging, shoveling, grading, track-laying and building fell to them.

The potato famine in Ireland, beginning in 1847, devastated the Irish countryside. Unable to support themselves on their tiny plots, peasants fled to ocean ports. Some immigrated to English cities, finding jobs in the new factories. Others took ships, popularly known as "coffin ships," for hazardous voyages to the New World. Many of these vessels were former slave trade ships. With poor water, sanitation and food aboard, many voyages reached the U.S. with only half of their passengers.

Once in America these immigrants sought work and were welcomed by expanding railroads. These construction projects were built almost entirely by pick, shovel and spade, with occasional use of dynamite or horse power.

Sanitary conditions and health care were minimal in the isolated construction camps. Infectious diseases like cholera and dysentery could spread quickly, killing numerous workers. Many of these workers were already weakened by famine and poor nutrition, likely candidates for infection and disease. The Illinois Central Railroad, building from 1851 - 1857, lists over 100,00 workers in its record books, though it only employed 10,000 at any one time. Not all of these workers died, some settled in communities along the lines, but the tales of accidents and disease are numerous.

The specific circumstances of these deaths are lost to history. The Funk's Grove cemetery's sparse records simply say "Irish Workers." The oral tradition in the area is that they died building the railroad. The Funk and Stubblefield families had settled the area in the 1820s and established their cemetery. What is unique is that these workers, although their graves were not marked, were buried in a cemetery, instead of simply placed in a shallow grave along the railroad right-of-way. The number of workers are not clear, though 50 is the tradition. Two long strips of land, marking a mass burial, are in the cemetery's plots.

Currently a community committee is attempting to raise $12,500. The aim is to build a two-foot tall base at the cemetery, and on that erect a four-foot Celtic cross. A plaque will honor those forgotten workers. If the money is raised, the cross's dedication is planned for Workers Memorial Day, April 28, 2000. A historical booklet is also planned.

All donors are invited to submit names of forebears they would like remembered in the memorial booklet.

Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to the McLean County Historical Society/Irish Memorial Fund, 200 N. Main Street, Bloomington, Illinois, 61701. For more information, contact Mike Matejka at the Union News, 309-827-3934.

Planned Plaque inscription:

This Celtic cross honors the memory of more than 50 souls buried here about 1853.

Their names are known but to God. These immigrants from Ireland were driven
from their home by famine. They lie buried here in anonymity, far from the old
homes of the heart, but forever short of the new homes of their hopes.

They arrived sick and penniless, and took hard and dangerous jobs
building the Chicago & Alton Railroad. Their sacrifices made it
possible to develop the riches of the land we enjoy today.