Argyle Lake State Park: Paranormal Encounters at Atkinson-McCord Cemetery

Key Points: Atkinson-McCord Cemetery

• There are 20 pioneer graves in the cemetery from the 1830s. One is a Revolutionary War veteran and the other is a man who used to be a slave.

• The Atkinson family got the land from Job Yard’s widow when she remarried.

• The caretakers at the park saved the neglected cemetery from being vandalized and overgrown.

• Visitors say they have seen ghosts, heard voices, and felt a presence around Jack’s gravestone, which is often stolen.

• People have seen Bigfoot and werewolves in the nearby park.

• Some people think it’s a “thin place” between realms, but officials don’t take sides when it comes to allegations of the supernatural.

Introduction

Hidden away in the peaceful setting of Argyle Lake State Park, many believe an old and no longer used modest pioneer cemetery is haunted in west central Illinois. Its history is as rich and complicated as the Illinois countryside that surrounds it. The Atkinson-McCord Cemetery has only around twenty burials, but it is an important historical site that connects modern tourists to McDonough County’s past, which goes back to the early 19th century. People who live in and visit the area are still fascinated by the many ghost stories and other strange events that have happened at this seemingly calm resting place. The cemetery’s remote position in the park’s thick woods makes it the perfect setting for stories of otherworldly encounters that have been passed down through the years.

Argyle Lake State Park includes around 1,700 acres of undulating hills, thick woods, and the beautiful 93-acre Argyle Lake in western Illinois. The park was built in 1948 after the lake was built. Visitors can fish, boat, camp, and hike on beautiful pathways that weave through ravines and hardwood forests (Krohe Jr, 2005). The park’s natural beauty hides a long and complicated history of people living there. There are signs of both Native Americans and early European settlers who were drawn to the area’s rich land and resources. The park changes with the seasons, going from bright greens in the summer to amazing fall colors. As the sun goes down, the atmosphere can go from welcoming to frighteningly foreboding.

Dr. Michael Lorenzen, Professor and University Archivist Emeritus at Western Illinois University, spoke about this. He noted, “Here’s an old historic cemetery, and this place is reported to be haunted. Now, this place isn’t world famous. It doesn’t have investigators coming in from TV shows. It doesn’t have a lot written about it. This is all part of the local history you can find at the university archives. So there’s nothing definitive, no pictures, no videos, but there are lots of stories and people who come out here over the last couple decades and run into things that are a little unusual.”

Lorenzen continued, “The best time to get footage out here would probably be at night, but I’m not going to come out here at night because this closes when the sun goes down. You have to be here during the day. Plus, I’m kind of afraid to come out here at night. But there are lots of reports of orbs, particularly by some of the gravestones. You can actually see orbs out here at times, reportedly. People oftentimes will hear weird noises out here, which could well be nature, but sometimes people claim it was born to the ghostly realm. It sounds like people talking, but they can’t quite make out what it is. But when they come closer and try to identify it, the noises stop. People have seen people back here that look a little out of place and then approach them and they promptly disappear. So there are quite a variety of strange tales that come out of the cemetery, out of this park, which has lots of stories.”

The Atkinson-McCord Cemetery is a small piece of history that shows what life was like for early settlers in Illinois. It is the final resting place of several important pioneer families. Job Yard owned the land where the cemetery is now, and he was the first person buried there in 1839. After he died, his wife, Frances, married Simeon Atkinson, who took over the farm. The McCord family, who came from North Carolina in 1832, were some of the first people to live in Emmet Township. They are said to have welcomed the first child born in the area. John McCord, the head of the family, brought his wife, Mary Willard, several of their ten children, and Jack, an enslaved man who was known as “Jack ‘The Black Man of McCord’” in history. His grave has gotten a lot of attention over the years, and his headstone has been stolen several times but always found again (Greene, 2020).

William Willard, a warrior of the Revolutionary War who lived to be 97 years old after growing up in Leesburg, Virginia, is also buried at the cemetery. Before the land became a state park, nature and vandalism had left the cemetery in a state of ruin, overgrown, and damaged (White, 2019). Park workers labored hard to find the cemetery again and restore it to a state that reflected its historical significance. These repair attempts happened at the same time as more people claimed ghostly experiences in and around the cemetery (Find a Grave, n.d.).

Lorenzen said, “Argyle Lake State Park was a huge area back in the late 60s into the 70s for college students at Western Illinois University. They would come out here and party on weekends, and some of the parties that we have on record in the archives at the university, still some pretty massive parties, and students would do all kinds of things at night, and they would also include coming into the cemetery here and vandalizing it. So this is definitely now protected property, and there is a sign here making sure people know that.”

Haunted Cemetery

Over the years, stories about the Atkinson McCord Cemetery have become more and more detailed, and numerous paranormal investigators and curious visitors have reported strange things happening there. People most often talk about feeling chilly spots that don’t make sense even on warm summer evenings, hearing disembodied voices that seem to mumble names or parts of conversations, and seeing strange orbs of light that float among the gravestones before disappearing into the woods. Some cemetery visitors say they have recordings of electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) that show sounds that weren’t audible when they were there. People claim that some of these recordings contain phrases or references to the McCord and Atkinson families, which were not common at the time. Park rangers don’t often want to formally admit to these tales, but they have talked about their own strange experiences when patrolling near the cemetery after dark.

One of the most common paranormal stories is about the ghost of Jack, a guy who used to be a slave and is buried next to the McCord family. Many people who have visited his tomb have said they felt a presence watching over them. Some even said they saw the outline of a man standing next to his gravestone, but he disappeared as they got close. Others say they felt quite sad or resigned when they were near his grave. Historians and people who are interested in the paranormal have suggested that Jack’s complicated relationship with the McCord family—he was brought from North Carolina as their property and then buried in their family plot—may have caused spiritual turbulence that shows up in these encounters. Some mediums who have been to the site say they got messages saying that Jack is a “guardian” of the cemetery and is keeping it safe from further damage.

The spooky reputation of Argyle Lake State Park goes beyond the cemetery and into the woods around it, where strange things have been recorded happening all across the park. It’s strange, but many people have seen Bigfoot in the park’s thickly wooded portions, especially in the areas where there aren’t many people (Courtney, 2024). Witnesses say they saw a towering, hair-covered creature walking on two legs through the underbrush without making much noise. Some people who are interested in cryptozoology think that the park’s location along a corridor of similar sightings across western Illinois would mean that these hard-to-find creatures move about. However, there is no scientific proof of this.

One of the most shocking supernatural tales about the park is that of a young teen who saw and was chased by a monster that looked like a werewolf in the late 1980s. Growling sounds, unidentifiable to any local animals, were followed by a chilling encounter with a 7-foot-tall, shaggy-haired creature that resembled a werewolf or dogman. Some people believe that this sighting was simply a case of misidentifying coyotes or wolves. However, the story had specifics that don’t match up with how animals in the area usually act (O’Connor, 2024).

Analysis

Some scholars have suggested that the Atkinson-McCord Cemetery may be a “thin place,” defined as a location where the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds is less distinct. This is because there are so many paranormal claims around the cemetery. This idea, which comes from Celtic tradition, says that some places, especially those with complicated or tragic pasts, may be able to let paranormal activity happen. People who believe in this notion say that the cemetery’s unique history, which includes the remains of early settlers, a Revolutionary War veteran, and a man who was formerly a slave, creates a convergence of spiritual energy. They also say that the change from private ownership to public park space may have upset any spiritual balance that had been in place before.

Park officials are quiet about paranormal activity in Argyle Lake State Park; while they do not endorse paranormal activity reports, they also acknowledge guests’ encounters. Former park ranger Wayne White told many stories of unusual activity at the park despite this. This official neutrality may have added to the cemetery’s mystery by letting legends spread without any clear proof against them. Many people find it exciting to think that they might see anything strange while at the park, but rangers stress that the burial ground’s historical importance should come first.

Conclusion

The stories about Atkinson-McCord Cemetery show how complicated our relationship is with history, memory, and the unknown. Some people think the recorded events are real spiritual experiences, while others think they are just stories that have accumulated over time. No matter what, they are an important part of the culture that surrounds this historic site. The cemetery is a physical reminder of the people who helped influence the early history of McDonough County. These include the Atkinson and McCord families, Revolutionary War hero William Willard, and Jack, whose presence in death beside those who previously owned him reveals a tangled American story. People still visit their graves, which have weathered over time but have been carefully cared for, to connect with the past, whether it be historical or supernatural. As twilight falls over Argyle Lake, the line between story and experience, between history and folklore, seems to blur in the quiet spaces between the stones. This makes us wonder what truths might be hidden from us, whispered among the ancient trees that stand guard over this pioneer burial ground.

References

Courtney, S. (2024). BFRO Report 36406: Daylight sighting by a camper in Argyle Lake State Park. BFRO.net. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from https://bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=36406

Find a Grave. (n.d.). Atkinson Cemetery in Colchester, Illinois – Find a Grave Cemetery. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2399786/atkinson-cemetery

Greene, D. (2020, October 26). A home for county history. McDonough Voice. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from https://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/story/news/local/2020/10/26/home-for-county-history/42883871/

Krohe Jr, J. (2005). La Moine River Basin: An Inventory of the Region’s Resources. Critical Trends Assessment Program.

O’Connor, J. (2024, January 4). Werewolf or Dogman Encounter, Argyle Lake State Park in Illinois, 1985. Connect Paranormal Blog. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from https://connectparanormal.net/2024/01/04/werewolf-or-dogman-encounter-argyle-lake-state-park-in-illinois-1985/

White, W. W. (2019). Argyle: A year in my life as a park ranger. Lulu.com.