Lovely Horse Creek Cemetery, is located in Cotton Hill Township north of Pawnee, Illinois, on the bank of Horse Creek. Emily White, 12-day-old daughter of Craig White and Sally Lane (pioneer citizens) was the first burial in 1832. Mr. White buried her on their own land, which was the north part of the present cemetery. A stone on the Craig White lot bears Emily’s name. From that time on, this plot has been used as a cemetery.
The Primitive Baptist Church was located in this cemetery for many years. This church was built in 1865 or 1866 on grounds donated by Craig White. It was torn down and replaced by the funeral chapel farther west of the church. We believe the distinguished looking gentleman whose “bust” photo appears in the upper right hand corner of the photo of the church, is Elisha Sanders. He was a pastor of the church for many years, having been converted from a wicked life involving slave trade, etc. Later two of his sons, and one son-in-law, also were pastors of this church.
The funeral chapel was used on only a few occasions after it was erected. It had fallen into such a bad state of repair that it was razed in 1981 and the basement filled and leveled.
Buried at Horse Creek Cemetery are veterans such as James Cook (1798-1853), 3rd Ill. Mtd. Vols. Black Hawk War; Charles Hemphill (1869-1933), Co. E 19 U.S. Inf Spanish American War; and John W. McClure (1837-1917), Co. F 99th Reg. Ind. Inf. with Sherman to the Sea. There are also veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and Viet Nam.
Since the origin of the graveyard, the cemetery has expanded to eight
more additions: Old Graveyard I, 1st Addition, 2nd Addition, 3rd Addition, 4th Addition, North and South 5th Addition, North and South 6th Addition, and East and West 7th Addition.