Schuyler County was established in 1825 on the west bank of the Illinois River, named for Revolutionary War Major General Philip John Schuyler.1 Its county seat of Rushton was founded the following year, named for local physician D.B. Rush. The city's name soon became Rushville.2 Today, Rushville is a city of about 3200 people.

At the southeast corner of Rushville, several dry creek beds converge, leading to a wooded area and eventually to the Illinois River, about eight miles to the southeast. The creeks left deep furrows in the land, and it is here that Rushville's early citizens built their city cemetery. The rolling terrain gives Rushville City Cemetery an appearance somewhat unusual for the relatively flat state of Illinois.