The Taylorville Kiwanis Club heard about the history of Camp Butler National Cemetery, from Carolyn Koehler, at their weekly meeting Tuesday at Taylorville Memorial Hospital auditorium.

Koehler spoke on the overview of Camp Butler which was established in 1862 and serves over one million veterans in Illinois.  Situated on 53 acres, it is located in Sangamon County near Riverton and occupies a portion of what was the second-largest military training camp in Illinois during the Civil War.  The cemetery has over 600 burials conducted each year.  Criteria for burial in the National Cemetery include serving in the military and being honorably discharged.

Camp Butler was a Union training camp and a Confederate Prisoner of War (POW) camp during the Civil War and was listed on the National Register of Historic places in 1997.  The cemetery is open to the public daily from dawn until dusk for visitation of cemetery grounds.

The Taylorville Kiwanis Club is part of global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.  Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays at noon at the Taylorville Memorial Hospital auditorium.  For information on the club, go to taylorvillekiwanis.com.