Work underway to restore headstone of Rockton founding father Stephen Mack

ROCKTON, Ill. (WTVO) — The gravestone of Stephen Mack Jr., one of the Stateline’s founding figures, is being carefully restored after it was discovered broken in half.

Mack, who establish the Macktown settlement, is buried on the site. Macktown eventually became part of the village of Rockton.

The restoration effort is being led by volunteers from the Macktown Living History Museum, who are working to preserve the 175-year-old sandstone marker. Because the headstone is made of sandstone rather than granite, the repair process is delicate and requires specialized expertise.

The damage was first noticed during a Mack family reunion held at the site. Linda Sonneson, curator of Macktown Living History, said the stone had previously been repaired.

“We don’t know when [the damage] happened or how that happened,” Sonneson said. “But at the time that it was moved back here, a man named George Tillet—and he’s still around the area—repaired to the best of his ability and knowledge. He did a wonderful job. It’s lasted until now.”

Stephen Mack, his wife Hononegah, and their son Henry were originally buried near what is now the Macktown Golf Course clubhouse. Their remains were later moved to Phillips Cemetery in Rockton before being returned to the Macktown settlement in the 1950s by the Rockton Historical Society.

“They were dug up one more time and brought back here,” Sonneson explained. “Now they rest just a few feet from the house they once occupied.”

To ensure the gravestone is properly restored, Sonneson consulted Jerri Noller, former sexton of the Rockton Township Cemetery. Noller recommended Stonehuggers Cemetery Restorations, an Indiana-based company known for its expertise in historic gravestone preservation.

I worked with them for seven years,” Noller said. “They restored, many, many stones at the cemetery. “

Funds to pay for the restoration came from private donations.

Preserving the original headstone is part of a broader effort to maintain the authenticity of the Macktown settlement. The Mack home itself remains furnished with items dating back to the 1700s and 1800s.

“Our time period ends at 1850,” Sonneson said. “Everything you see in the house is from that time period.

While Stephen Mack and Hononegah now rest at the Macktown site, their eight other children remain buried at Phillips Cemetery in Rockton.