This was the Chicago City Cemetery from 1843 to 1866. About 35,000 people were buried here until Dr. John Rauch pointed out that having corpses next to the drinking water wasn't ideal.
The city told families to move their relatives. Most did. The Couch family did not. Ira Couch ran Chicago's fanciest hotel. When he died in 1857, his family built this 50-ton marble tomb. When the city said "move it," the family apparently said "you move it."
Historians estimate about 12,000 bodies were never moved. The Great Fire of 1871 destroyed most wooden grave markers. In 1998, construction workers found 81 skeletons and one well-preserved corpse in an iron coffin.
— From the tour: The Best Free Day in Chicago
