Moon Point Cemetery

Moon Point Cemetery, often mistakenly called 'Moon Creek', is a memorial site located south of Streator, Illinois off of Route 23, in Livingston County. It is often claimed that a large number of eerie happenings take place upon any normal visit to the cemetery including ghostly apparations of the "Hatchet Lady", as well as stalling vehicles, the sounds of young children's laughter, strange lights with no source, and so on. According to residents of the town, the legend has been on going for at least fifty years.

History

The origin of the cemetery's name isn't as clearly evident today as it was in the 1800s. Moon obviously from Jacob Moon and his family, the first settlers in Reading Township. After the Land Ordinance of 1785, the law required teams of surveyors to plot out the land into 6 square mile incriments to be sold by the government.

Moon was born in 1781 in Berkeley County, Virginia (present day West Virginia), and later married Leah Reese in 1806. He moved to Fayettesville County, Ohio in 1808, and later served in the war of 1812. After the war Moon returned to his family in Fayettesville County, and farmed there until they moved to Reading Township between 1830, and 1833. In the early 1800s a finger of wooded land extending AbOUT mile from the river along the course of the tributary, now known as Moon Creek, was an extremely prominent feature of the landscape. Moon chose this place to settle his homestead, and gave the tributary its previously mentioned name.

On February 1st, 1836, Jacob's son Albert bought the south west quarter of Section 11 of Reading Township from the government for $1.25 per acre. On May 18th of the same year, Jacob bought the northeast quarter of Section 10, for the same price. Two years later, Albert bought an additional 80 acres immediately to the east of his first purchase.

Folklore

Although it is unknown exactly when the haunting supposedly began, there is definitely a supernatural history behind the old graveyard. It is said that at least since the 1970s, there have been a number of reports of some very strange happenings that take place upon entering Moon Point Cemetery, including apparations of the infamous "Hatchet Lady".

Although the story has a vast number of variations, the most noted is that the woman began going there to protect her sons grave, after his death during the Civil War. It is said that she stood there for most of her lifetime, protecting her sons grave from those that ridiculed him during his life. It is said that after she passed, the Hatchet Lady's soul still returned to the cemetery each day to ward off those who don't belong with her hatchet, and ghostly voice wailing "Get out!"

Other incidents that have happened in and around the cemetery have also been reported to local law enforcement many times over the years. In the 1970s a "ghosttraveler" claimed to have visited the cemetery and seen ghostly images of a 19th century boy, clad in clothes of his time period. The report also included seeing strange lights "dancing around the gravestones", as well as strange red and white orbs appearing and disappearing in the cornfields that surround the entrance.

Although there have been an amazing amount of reports supernatural phonomena, many skeptics still remain, due to the fact that there has never been any truly criminal events that have taken place at the cemetery. Now, local and state law enforcement commonly patrol the area at night to ward off drunk teenagers and vandalists.

Burial list

It is said that Thomas Moon, a descendant of Jacob, was the first to be buried in the cemetery. It is likely that Jacob would create this cemetery to bury a family member. The following is a list of people who are also buried in the cemetery: