Ghosts of Milwaukee’s Past

Distance: As far as you want to walk on multiple streets inside the 200-acre cemetery.
Start: 2405 W. Forest Home Ave.
Parking: On the street, inside the gate

A walk in Forest Home Cemetery is a visit to so many ghosts of the past: early settlers who founded the city; movers and shakers who grew the city; Beer Barons who put Milwaukee’s breweries on the map; 21 soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War; and common folk who lived in Milwaukee and made it their home. As you wander among the gravesites, you will find it’s quiet, peaceful, and a place where you might be encouraged to linger and contemplate life’s complexities.

In these 200 acres set in the middle of the city in the Lincoln Village neighborhood, there are 2,600 trees, including 100 different species, cultivated flower gardens, native plants, fruit trees, spring wildflowers, and prairie grasses. It’s a garden, an arboretum, and a destination for local residents as well as out-of- town visitors to Milwaukee.

The land for the cemetery was selected in 1847 by a committee from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. At the time, it was two miles outside the city limits, hence the members believed it would remain a rural cemetery. The boundaries followed the recently constructed Janesville Plank Road (now W. Forest Home Ave.) far from the urban development that would eventually surround this rural acreage. In 1850, Increase Lapham, a well-known early naturalist, designed the original cemetery. It has been written that Lapham (who is buried here) may have modeled it after the garden cemeteries of the Victorian era, which accounts for the curved roads that wander among the gravesites.

The first person to be buried in the new cemetery was Orville Cadwell in 1850; he was soon joined by the many victims of a cholera outbreak in the city that occurred between 1849 and 1854.

The Walk

Start your visit to the cemetery in the office located on the grounds close to the entrance. Here you will find a brochure with a map as well as a booklet that lists many of the prominent citizens who are buried here. This is a good starting point for a walk that can be a random stroll or a treasure hunt focused on seeking the locations of well-known Milwaukeeans in such categories as the Mayors and Founders (Byron Kilbourn, George Walker, Frank Zeidler, etc.), the Beer Barons (Joseph Schlitz, Frederick Pabst), the Industrialists (Guido Pfister, Edward Allis) and Entertainers and Artists (Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne) and Military Heroes (General William Mitchell). Those are just some of the famous.

You may notice a number of obelisks, a common marker that indicates the soul has risen. They come in all sizes, from humble to majestic. In addition to the obelisks scattered around the cemetery, there are other symbolic carvings to look for. These include books that represent a heart open to God, ivy leaves that suggest friendship, and the draped urn showing the thin veil between life and death. All these symbols and more are described in the booklet available in the office.

You will also notice trees with silver disks attached. The numbers on the disks correspond to the names of the trees listed in the self-guided tree tour in the booklet.

Because it would be almost impossible to chart a specific course through the grounds, it makes sense to arm yourself with a map and let this be a walk of discovery, where you will find serendipitous views of fountains, sculptures, gardens, funerary art, mature trees, and lovely vistas around every curve.

Savor this walk and thank the committee at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church who had the foresight to set aside and preserve this formerly rural land made up of gentle hills and magnificent trees. There will always be more condos, apartments, malls, and subdivisions, as metro Milwaukee continues its march to pave the surrounding countryside, but Forest Home Cemetery and those 200 acres will forever remain an island of tranquility in the midst of the city.

(The cemetery office is open: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Along the Walk