The Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery was established and dedicated in October, 1999.  It was dedicated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs national Cemetery Administration.

It was established on 982 acres of the old Joliet Army Ammunition Plant property. It provides over 4000,000 burial spaces.

This National Cemetery was named after President Abraham Lincoln, who founded the National Cemetery system on July 17, 1862, in the midst of the Civil War.

Adjacent to the main entrance is a monument dedicated to the Joliet Army Ammunition workers who were killed in an explosion on June 5, 1942. The explosion on the assembly line at the facility resulted in 48 dead or missing, and was felt over 60 miles away.