Haymarket Martyrs' Monument

The Haymarket Martyrs' Monument is a memorial at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, dedicated to the labor movement. It rises as a sixteen-foot granite shaft topped with bronze figures depicting Justice placing a wreath on the head of a fallen worker.

The Pioneer Aid and Support Association erected this memorial in 1893 to honor labor activists executed in the aftermath of the 1886 Haymarket incident. The dedication came after a period when demands for workers' rights were met with violent repression.

This place serves as a gathering point for labor activists and workers who see it as a symbol of their ongoing struggle for fair treatment. People visit to honor those who fought for better working conditions and continue this legacy in their own lives.

The memorial is wheelchair-accessible and sits within Forest Home Cemetery, where you can take your time walking around and reflecting. Monthly guided tours run from May through October with the Illinois Labor History Society, offering deeper insight into the stories connected to this place.

Five labor activists' names are carved into the memorial alongside a bronze plaque honoring Governor John Peter Altgeld's pardon from that same year. This plaque tells a lesser-known part of the story: that a state governor later declared the executions unjust and officially cleared the names of the men involved.