The Beecher Mausoleum is a community

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

located at the junction of Illinois Route 1 and Horner Lane in Washington Township, Will County, Illinois, southeast of the village of

Beecher Beecher may refer to:__NOTOC__ People *Beecher (surname) Places United States *Beecher, Illinois *Beecher, Michigan, a census-designated place and unincorporated community near Flint *Beecher, Wisconsin, a town *Beecher (community), Wisconsin, an ...

. The mausoleum was built in 1913–14, making it an early example of a community mausoleum. The first community mausoleum in the United States was built in 1907, and changing burial traditions and successful marketing made them a popular method of burial through the 1930s. These mausoleums were most common in large cities, and the Beecher Mausoleum is a rare early example of a community mausoleum in a small, rural village. Architect

Cecil E. Bryan Cecil Eldridge Bryan (March 26, 1878 – March 24, 1951) was an American architect and inventor active in the first half of the 20th century. He designed over eighty mausoleums, at least one of which is now on the National Register of Historic Pla ...

, who designed many community mausoleums for the National Mausoleum Company, designed the mausoleum in the Neoclassical style. The mausoleum was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 2013.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Will County, Illinois Mausoleums on the National Register of Historic Places Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Death in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1914 1914 establishments in Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois {{WillCountyIL-NRHP-stub