Roselawn Memorial Park

A peaceful Springfield cemetery

With rolling green lawns, mature trees and meandering sidewalks, Roselawn Memorial Park is a peaceful, parklike sanctuary. The cemetery offers families many different options for memorializing their loved ones. Located on South Camp Butler Road, just southwest of Camp Butler National Cemetery, it's easily accessed from I-72.

Significant monuments sit among the gardens of the expansive memorial park. At the heart of Roselawn is a natural-color stone reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper." Other notable monuments include a tribute to Lord Alfred Tennyson, a past poet laureate of the United Kingdom and one of history’s most recognized English poets.

Statutes depicting the Lord’s Prayer, a guardian angel and the good shepherd are located throughout the gardens, which are organized into sections with historic, religious and commemorative names. Among them: the Lincoln Memorial section, a beautiful area dedicated to the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln, who considered Springfield his home.

Burial options

The burial options at Roselawn Memorial Park are as varied as the loved ones memorialized here. They include:

• Flush memorials
• Upright memorials
• Private family estates
• Private family mausoleums

Cremation options

Families who choose cremation may also choose cemetery memorialization. Roselawn Memorial Park offers many types of permanent memorialization, such as:

• Columbaria
• Urn burial
• Boulders
• Benches
• An ossuary

Green burial at Roselawn Memorial Park

Some people may prefer a simpler, more natural approach to their final arrangements. Green burial in the Greenview section at Roselawn Memorial Park follows the standards established by the Green Burial Council. In fact, Butler Funeral Homes and Cremation Tribute Center and Roselawn Memorial Park are the only combined funeral home and cemetery providers in Illinois certified by the Green Burial Council.

What that means:

• Embalming is not permitted unless a nontoxic, biodegradable embalming solution is used.
• Only biodegradable caskets made from a renewable material such as bamboo, willow or banana leaf may be used.
• Outer burial containers and vaults may not be used.
• Only natural stones and rocks may be used as grave markers.

Roselawn Pet Cemetery

We know pets can be important members of the family. Wishing to give families with beloved companion animals an option for saying goodbye with the utmost dignity and respect, Butler Funeral Homes and Cremation Tribute Center opened a separate division dedicated exclusively to pets in 2000. It offers cremation services, burial at Roselawn Pet Cemetery, as well as pet caskets, urns, keepsakes and grave memorials.

Nestled in a separate area of Roselawn Memorial Park, Roselawn Pet Cemetery offers single or multiple spaces for casket or urn burial. Many of our staff are pet parents too, so you can be assured that your pet will be treated with the utmost care. Our staff celebrant is available to assist you in creating a ceremony specific to your faithful friend if you would like.

Burial planning in advance

Many families don't realize the significance of choosing a final resting place. It is an important step in creating a family legacy, establishing a place of remembrance and paying tribute to a special life. In addition to assisting with an immediate need, Butler Funeral Homes and Cremation Tribute Center specializes in working with families to make final arrangements in advance. When you plan ahead, you relieve your family from financial and emotional burdens while ensuring your wishes are fulfilled. We offer in-person and virtual consultations, as well as a free Personal Planning Guide.

Request a tour

Photos tell a story but we invite you to see Roselawn Memorial Park for yourself. You are welcome to visit the cemetery anytime, or reach out to set up a guided tour. We can also show you around in person or virtually. If you have an immediate need, please call us at any time.

History

The history of Roselawn Memorial Park begins with a unique connection to Camp Butler. The Civil War training camp for Illinois volunteers was located in the area known today as Camp Butler National Cemetery and Roselawn Memorial Park.

Operating from 1861 to 1866, Camp Butler was the second-largest training camp in Illinois during the Civil War. It also served as a prison camp for captured Confederate soldiers. The first troops arrived at Camp Butler in August 1861 and after being trained as either cavalry or infantry soldiers, boarded trains at Jimtown (now Riverton) and headed off to war. All that remains of Camp Butler today is the national cemetery, which contains the graves of more than 1,600 Confederate and Union soldiers, as well as generations of servicemen and women, and their families. Most of the land on which the camp stood was returned to cropland or occupied by private residences. Part of the south camp and its adjacent drill fields are now part of Roselawn Memorial Park.

More than 60 years later, Roselawn Memorial Park was incorporated on August 30, 1927. The founders of Roselawn included Louis E. Frost, A.E. Rouland, and R.G. Hobbs, all of Springfield. In March 1956, the cemetery was purchased by W.T. Vancil. The Vancil family, most recently represented by Bill Vancil, Jr., provided exemplary service to the community for more than 50 years.

In 2007, Butler Funeral Homes and Cremation Tribute Center purchased Roselawn Memorial Park. In the years since, offerings have been expanded to include memorialization for cremation, green burial and upright markers. Today it is the site of approximately 22,000 interments, and there are plenty of undeveloped acres, which means Roselawn Memorial Park will be providing dignified care to families and their loved ones for generations to come.