Lusk Memorial Park includes the original public burial ground, Edwardsville's oldest known cemetery, and a later expansion. Burials in the earlier north-side cemetery began before 1812, and John Lusk expanded the cemetery in 1825. Before perpetual care, graves were maintained by families, but as families died or moved away, the burial ground became neglected. Woodlawn Cemetery was established in 1871, and about 400 remains were moved there from Lusk Cemetery, though it is estimated that more than 1,000 bodies still remain here, including soldiers from six wars and early preachers. Burials continued after 1871 mainly for people who wished to be buried with family, but the cemetery's poor condition led to the City of Edwardsville taking it over in 1913 and closing burials to everyone except the Lusk family. Georgia Lusk, who died in 1955, was the last person buried here. During the Great Depression, a works program cleaned up the cemetery and created a lawn by burying gravestones that were mostly already lying on the ground. The grounds remain green space today because digging almost anywhere would disturb the graves of some of Edwardsville's earliest pioneers.