7 MWWWWM

3 1293 00849

W

gm

Jig.

Kll'
19's”! 1 2

 

WI

ABSTRACT

THE EVOLVING SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
OF CEMETERIES IN

WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN, 1835-1976

BY

George G. Martin

The cemetery is a ubiquitous type of land use in the
United States but little research has been completed that
investigates the historical growth of cemeteries and their
evolving spatial distribution. This study analyzes the
cemeteries of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, to determine
their historical and present spatial distribution and the
effect of population growth on their numbers; common
locational characteristics of each site; and factors that
cause them to become inactive or relocated.

The data base was compiled from maps, plat books,
interviews, and historical records and files. Each cemetery
was then mapped and field checked to determine such charac-
teristics as the date of establishment, number of burials,
ownership, burial status (active, inactive or relocated),
and relationship to the physical and cultural environment.
Three series of maps and graphs were derived from this data
base. The first series portrays the historical growth,
location, and status of cemeteries from 1840 to 1976.

Common locational characteristics of cemetery sites are

illustrated in the second. The final series of maps and
a statistical measure reveal factors that are typical of
cemeteries that have changed status to become inactive or
relocated.

The cemeteries of Waukesha County exhibit distinguish-
able patterns both in their historical deve10pment and
present-day distribution. Their sites reveal common loca-
tional advantages: well drained soils, accessibility, and
proximity to potential users. Cemeteries were quickly
established shortly after settlement; of the 90 cemeteries
in the study area 64 were founded before 1860. But no new
cemetery has been established since 1936. Rather, the
number of cemeteries becoming inactive or relocated has
increased dramatically since 1940. Competition for land
brought about by rapid population growth is a factor in
causing status changes. Those cemeteries most likely to
change status contain a low number of burials and are most

likely government or privately owned.

THE EVOLVING SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
OF CEMETERIES IN

WAUKESHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN, 1835-1976

BY

George Gilbert Martin

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Geography

1978

:9:
010‘“

5\

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people are responsible for the production of
this work. It is only with their assistance, understanding,
and guidance that this work is finally being completed.
I would like to mention their names and thank them.

Professor Charles Calkins planted this tOpic in my
brain during my undergraduate work at Carroll College.
But it was only during a serendipitous conversation in
graduate school that I discovered the topic of cemeteries
appealed to another geographer's interest, that of Dr. Joe
T. Darden. He guided me expertly throughout my research
and I thank him for that. The workers at the Waukesha
County Historical Society were a great aid and provided
precious documents and records. To all these and others
who helped me during the course of my research I am grateful.

I would also like to give special thanks to my parents
for their understanding and assistance. It took a while,
but I told you I'd do it, Mom. Finally, the greatest
tribute goes to my wife. Her years of patience, waiting
for me to finish the writing, and her long hours of typing
were truly a labor of love. I couldn't have completed

this without her help.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List Of Tables 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter I Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter II The Influence of POpulation Growth
on the Location of Cemeteries. . . . . . . .

Chapter III Factors Affecting the Location
Of cemeteries. O I O O O O O O C O O O O O 0

Chapter IV Factors Affecting Inactive and
Relocated Cemeteries . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter V Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selected Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix A Cemetery Fact Sheet. . . . . . . .

Appendix B List and Map of Waukesha County
cemeteries O I I O O O I O O I O O O I O O 0

iii

15

38

53
78
86

91

92

LIST OF TABLES

Table
1. Number of Cemeteries Located, by Source .

2. Index of Dissimilarity Between Active and
Inactive or Relocated Cemeteries. . . .

3. Cemetery Ownership, Focus, and Change of

Status. . . . . . .
Inactive Cemeteries .

Relocated Cemeteries.

iv

61
64

67

Figure
1- A Classification Scheme for Cemeteries .
2. Waukesha County. . . .1. . . . . . . . .
3. Cemeteries - 1840. . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Cemeteries - 1860. . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Cemeteries - 1880. . . . . . . . . . . .
6. Cemeteries - 1900. . . . . . . . . . . .
7. Cemeteries - 1920. . . . . . . . . . . .
8. Cemeteries - 1940. . . . . . . . . . . .
9. Cemeteries - 1960. . . . . . . . . . . .
10. Cemeteries - 1976. . . . . . . . . . . .
11. The Number of Active Cemeteries per 1000
Population in Waukesha County, 1840-1970

12. The Number and Status of Waukesha County
Cemeteries, 1840-1976 . . . . . . . .

13. Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14. Road Network - 1859 . . . . . . . . . .
15. Road Network - 1976 . . . . . . . . . .
16. Number of Burials and Status - 1976. . .
17. Population Density . . . . . . . . . . .
18. Cemeteries of Waukesha County. . . . . .

LIST OF FIGURES

17
20
25
27
28
30
31

33

34

35
44
47
49
55
58
93

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The cemetery is an ubiquitous form of land use in the
United States. Whether it be in the small family plot on
the farmstead or in the luxurious, evergreen-landscaped
memorial garden, human dead are usually paid their last
respects and laid to rest in some form of cemetery.

Despite the universality of this cultural landscape
feature, few studies of necrogeography have been made.
Some influenced the spatial distribution of cemeteries
both today and in the past. Cemetery management groups

have published material noting the importance of such site

 

1The only other studies of necrogeography not men-
tioned in the following two paragraphs are W.G. Hardwick,
R.J. Clause and D.C. Rothwell, "Cemeteries and Urban Land
Value," The Professional Geographer, Vol. 23, No. l,
(January,’I971), pp. 19-21 and Maurice E. Perret,
Cemeteries: A Source of Geographic Information," Trans-
actions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and
Letters, Vol. 63, (1975), pp. 139-161. Sociologists reveal
their work on cemeteries in William M. Kephart, "Status
After Death," American SociolOgical Review, Vol. 15,
(October, 1950), pp. 640-650; and Frank W. Young, "Grave-
yards and Social Structure," Rural Sociology, Vol. 25,
No. 4, (December, 1960), pp. 446-450. Three studies from
the archaeological perspective are James Deetz and Edwin
Dethlefsen, "Death's Heads, Cherubs, and Willow Trees:
Experimental Archaeology in Colonial Cemeteries," American
Antiquity, Vol. 31, (1965-66), pp. 502-510; "Death's Heads,
Cherubs, Urn and Willow," Natural History, (March, 1967),
pp. 28-37; and Kenneth Lindley, ”Stones and Long Grass:
The Churchyard as Landscape," Architectural Review, (June,
1966). PP. 462-466.

 

 

factors as t0pography, soil, drainage, natural beauty,
accessibility and zoning restriction, in addition to the
situation factors of urban centers, particularly in rela-
tion to industrial and residential expansion.2 Planning
agencies consider contemporary and future factors when
determining cemetery location, the most important being
population growth.3 However, geographic studies which
focus on factors that influence cemetery location have
been rare. The only work that examined these aspects as
the major thesis of research was Darden's study of the
locations of Pittsburgh's cemeteries.4 He recognized
cost of land, accessibility, proximity to potential users,
and land of relatively high elevation as the dominant
factors in the location of cemetery site. Pattison,5
investigating cemeteries as a form of land use, noted
Chicago's cemeteries were located at a remote distance

from the city adjacent to major transportation routes

 

2Two such works are The Cemetery Handbook, Park &
Cemetery Publishing Co., Madison, Wis., and Donald Drewes,
Cemetery Land Planning (Pittsburgh: Matthews Memorial
Bronze, 1964). ‘

3American Society of Planning Officials, Cemeteries
in the City Plan, Planning Advisory Report No. 164(3uly,
1950).

 

 

 

4Joe T. Darden, "Factors in the Location of Pitts-
burgh's Cemeteries," The Virginia Geographer, Vol. 7,
No. 2, (1972), pp. 3-8.

 

5William D. Pattison, "The Cemeteries of Chicago:
A Phase of Land Utilization," Association of American
Geographers, Annals, Vol. 45, (1955), pp. 245-257.

on sites having good drainage, ease of excavation, and a
capacity for plant life. Price,6 Francaviglia,7 Kniffen,8
and Heckel9 noted similar factors in their studies of
necrogeography. Yet of all these studies, only Darden,
Pattison and Price considered the temporal dynamics of the
various factors influencing cemetery location.

Price indicated that over a period of years some
cemeteries become inactive, suggesting that the lower the
number of burials within a cemetery the more likely a
cemetery would become inactive. But Price did not rigor-
ously test this statement nor did he investigate individual
inactive cemeteries to suggest other causes of inactivity.
Though authors alluded to relocating cemeteries, only
Darden10 has done any definitive work on the processes
involved in cemetery relocation and applies his research to

individual cases.

 

6Larry Price, “Some Results and Implications of a
Cemetery Study," The Professional Geographer, Vol. 18,
(1966): PP. 201-207.

 

7Richard V. Francaviglia, "The Cemetery as an
Evolving Cultural Landscape," Association of American
Geographers, Annals, Vol. 61, (1971), pp. 501-509.

8Fred Kniffen, "Necrogeography in the United States,"
Geographical Review, Vol. 57, (1967), pp. 426-427.

 

9David E. Heckel, Necrogeography: A Geographic
Analysis of the Cemeteries of Coles County, Illinois, M.A.
Thesis, Eastern Illinois University, 1972.

10Joe T. Darden, "The Processes of Cemetery
Relocation," an unpublished paper.

 

 

Several questions arise from the preceding remarks.
Where are cemeteries located? Why are they located where
they are? Did various locational factors affecting the
selection of a cemetery site change in relative signifi-
cance through time? If so, which factors changed? Why?
There are various types of cemeteries, whether they are
classified on the basis of rural versus urban focus, owner-
ship, size, etc. What association existed between and
within the types of cemeteries and the locational factors
of dominating influence? What factors caused cemeteries to
become inactive? Relocated? What effect did rapid pop-
ulation growth and urban encroachment have on the spatial
distribution and number of cemeteries?

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact
of population growth on the location and spatial distri-

bution of cemeteries in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

Objectives

 

The objectives of this study were:

1) To determine the historical and present spatial
distribution of cemeteries, and the effect of population
growth on their numbers,

2) To determine the common locational character-
istics of cemetery sites,

3) To determine the factors that caused cemeteries

to become inactive, and

5

4) To determine the factors that caused cemeteries

to be relocated.

Hypotheses

 

The following hypotheses were tested to meet the
objectives of the study.

1) As population increased the number of
cemeteries decreased.

2) Cemeteries were located in areas of well-drained
soils, on accessible transportation routes and in proximity
to potential users.

3) Population circumvention was a major factor in
causing inactive cemeteries.

4) Urban expansion was a major factor in causing

cemetery relocation.

Operational‘Definitions

 

The following Operational definitions were used in
this study. A cemetery was defined as any human burial
place having a minimum fo five interments in the same area.
An interment was determined by an associated marker with
name or names of the deceased or a written document citing
evidence that an individual had been buried there.

The drainage characteristics of the soil were
determined by using the 0.8. Department of Agriculture

. 11
5011 survey.

 

110.8. Department of Agriculture, Soil Survey of
Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties, (July, 1971).

 

 

A cemetery was considered accessible if its closest
boundary at the time of origin was within 100 yards of a
road or railroad.

A cemetery was Considered in proximity to its
potential user if it was within one mile of the focus of
those who used the cemetery at the time of its origin. If
the cemetery was owned by a religious group it must have
been located within one mile of its focal point (most
likely the church), if owned by a public governmental body
within one mile of the government limit or center (city
limit, township limit, etc.), or if owned by a private
entity within one mile of a potential user residence.

An inactive cemetery was a cemetery that had

received no interments within the past five years.

The Classification Scheme

 

A classification system based on cemetery focus and
ownership was devised to provide some basis for analysis of
the variable influence of locational factors on the
different cemetery types and to evaluate if one type of
cemetery tends to become inactive or relocated more than
another (Figure 1). The rural versus urban focus was the
first consideration of the type of cemetery. A cemetery
was considered urban-focused if the majority of its
potential users resided in an urban area of population
2,500 or more at the time of origin. All other cemeteries

were classified as rural focus. The second part of the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rural Focus Urban Focus]
[Religious] Private Government

FIGURE 1. A Classification Scheme for Cemeteries

classification system was based on the ownership of the
cemetery. The three types of ownership were religious,
private, or government. All cemeteries were classified
by their focus and ownership. Six different types of

cemeteries were possible: rural focus religious owned,
rural focus private owned, rural focus government owned,

urban focus religious owned, urban focus private owned,

and urban focus government owned.

The Study Area

 

The study area was Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Figure
2). Waukesha County, located in southeastern Wisconsin
and bordering the western edge of Milwaukee County, is
included in the four county SMSA of the City of Milwaukee.
It is subdivided into sixteen townships of almost equal
area; only 1.5 square miles difference in area exists
between two townships, the others are each 36 square miles
in area.

Waukesha County was chosen for three reasons: previous

knowledge and familiarity, relative accessibility to the

 

Genesey
/

;‘ Muhwonaqo

Em.»

WAUKESHA COUNTY

_,__.__,_ 123,7; 7 [T 77/4,: /,__,_,,__,-L__-K__.._
I 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

° 2w 3 ' TOWNSHIPS
:25
OCONOHO- MERTON usaou "E"°“°"EE
wm
[:1 CORPORATE AnEAs
—- CORPORATE LIMITS _
suuun DELAHELD PEWAUKEE :zfifl:
--_ COUNTY LIMITS
....... TOWNSmP LIMITS
_— ROADS
mu
”’/1\ OTTAWA sENEsEE WAUKESHA
81 STATE ‘ BERL'"
m
’ :4 a
WSC
/ EAGLE MUKWONAGOH VERNON uusxseo
Waulesho
Q Ca.
SOURCE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. I973 OBI

 

FIGURE 2

 

author, and rapid population growth. The choice of Waukesha
County was practical for the author since he had lived
there for four years and had completed some geographic
research in this area. Waukesha County had experienced
rapid population growth; its population increased 169%
between 1950 and 1970. Approximately 49% of the county's
present 231,365 inhabitants resided in the eastern quarter
of the county and 77% of the total population resided in
the eastern one-half of the county. These had been the
areas of most rapid pOpulation growth. This unusual dis-
tribution of the pOpulation within the county reflected
the growth of the city of Milwaukee and the spread of its
suburbs. Milwaukee lies immediately east of the county.
The western half of the study area is a typical southern
Wisconsin rural landscape. Small villages and farms
predominate with only minor evidence of urban encroachment.
This county, with its diverse densities of population,
seemed to be an ideal area to test the spatial association
of p0pulation growth and its impact on the distribution

of cemeteries.

Sources of Data and Methods of Analysis

 

The first and most important task was to locate the
cemeteries. The most complete data source was the files
at the Waukesha County Historical Society. A separate
file of cemeteries, located by township had been initiated

by several genealogists for use in tracing the roots of

10

their family trees. Another very important source in

locating cemeteries' precise position was the Soil Survey

 

. . 2 .
of Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties.1 Here, on a series

 

of small scale map sheets printed over an aerial photo
base, were located many cemeteries still existing on the
landscape. The State Cemetery Commission of Wisconsin also
recorded the names of active cemeteries in Waukesha County
because the managers of each cemetery are required by law
to file an annual statement. The Waukesha County Tax
Assessment Office was also visited to obtain a list of
present cemetery sites as land used for cemeteries is tax
exempt. Yet of all these sources, not one included a
complete listing or locations of all cemeteries that are
either now visible on the landscape or have ever been
located in Waukesha County. The latter three sources
along with road maps and U.S.G.S. topographic maps, named
and located most of the cemeteries presently being used,
maintained, and remaining on the landscape today (see
Table 1). But how could one locate cemeteries that have
not been maintained and are now shrouded by vegetation?
What of cemeteries that have long vanished from the land-
scape and those that have been relocated? The Waukesha
County Historical Society Library provided a wealth of

information concerning these cemeteries. Old atlases,

 

lzIbid.

ll

.m>wuom camfimu mmflumumEmo

.mucsoo mammxsmz CH manomncma map so camewu mwflumumsmo

.m.ommH as gas muss;

man woman mussoo may CH cmumooH coon m>w£ mmuwm mnmumEmo Hm5©H>w©cH

mo mamom m um mama >m>usm HMUHmoHomw mmumum pmuflca umwuma co comma cowpmfinomcH

.Iakma As

no mo Hmuou mm

mm m0 Hmuou 4v
on» no ucmeHuuwm
om mo Hmuou «m
.oom.mmua
N
55v musuasoflum< mo

ucmEuHmme .m.D .mmflucsoo mamoxsmz can mox5m3aflz mo mw>nsm Hwom co comma cofiumEHOmcHH

 

 

woos wmm wmm an mums omoe .m.o.m.s
mam mmm wen mm asm>usm HHom
wooa mam was mm sumsoom HmOAHOOmflm
mucsoo msmwxsmz
mpmuflo mmflumfim manompcma.co. mmwsfim man»
IEmo m>wuom kum mmwuwum CH wwwumumemo omuao mmwumumfimo
m0 “GOOHOQ IEOU MO ucwvuwm HHM MO #GOOHOQ m0 MODES HMHOB

MUMDOm Nm QMBdUOQ mMHmMBMZmU m0 mmmzaz .H mqmdfi

12

plat books,13

newspaper clippings, and other historical
documents filled some gaps, while creating others with
references to small, obscure, and undiscovered cemetery
sites. Interviews with local historians, natives who had
lived in the area for a long period of time, and cemetery
association members provided information peculiar to their
exhaustive knowledge of these old, forgotten sites. These
people were very responsive in supplying answers to num-
erous and probing questions about such an unusual and
somewhat distasteful topic as cemeteries. An excellent
source for "discovering" the existence of a cemetery which
had been relocated was the cemetery where the bodies had
been reinterred. The records of the largest cemeteries in
Waukesha County, which usually absorbed most of these
reinterments, cited cases of bodies from smaller cemeteries,
in some instances complete cemeteries, relocated within
the larger cemetery.

After the cemeteries had been listed and located

according to written and verbal references, each cemetery

 

13Historical plat books and atlases used included
Plats and Land Grants, Waukesha County (1859), Atlas of
Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.: Harrison and
Warner, 1873), Plat Book of Waukesha County, Wisconsin
(Minneapolis: C.M. Foster and Company, 1891), Standard
Atlas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Geo. A. Ogle
& Co., 1914), Atlas and Plat Book of Waukesha CountyL
Wisconsin (Rockford, 111.: The Thrift Press, 1930), and
Plat Book of Waukesha County, Wisconsin (Milwaukee:
Marathon Map Service, 1949).

 

 

13

was field checked. A fact sheet (see Appendix A) was
completed listing the name, precise and relative location,
number and date of earliest and latest burials, ownership
and other pertinent information. A map and listing of all
cemeteries are included in Appendix B (see Figure 18 and
Table 7). Some burial places did not meet the minimum
criteria of five burials. A list of these is included at
the end of Table 7 in Appendix B.

The next step was to determine the factors that
influenced the location of each cemetery. Again, the
county atlases and plat books provided the necessary
information concerning the development of the transporta-
tion network. They also portrayed the evolution of pOp-
ulation centers which was correlated to the location of
cemetery sites, indicating the proximity of the cemeteries
to the potential users. The U.S. Census cited the charac-
teristics of the population and its growth. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture soil survey noted the drainage
characteristics of the soil at each individual cemetery
site. Historical records were consulted to determine
peculiar circumstances affecting the location of a
cemetery. Finally, personal interviews with the agents of
cemetery ownership helped in providing insight to the
development of particular cemeteries.

The data compiled in the course of this research is
portrayed and analyzed cartographically, graphically and

statistically. One series of maps cites the location and

14

status of cemeteries for 1840, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1920,
1940, 1960, and 1976 (Figures 3-10); another series of maps
correlates the location of cemetery sites with soil types
and the transportation network (Figures 13-15); and a final
set of maps notes two relationships between cemeteries

and their status: number of burials within a cemetery in
relation to inactive and relocated status, and the pOpula-
tion density of the sixteen townships in relation to
inactive and relocated cemeteries (Figures 16-17). Simple
graphs correlate l) the populatiOn of Waukesha County to
the number of cemeteries per thousand peOple (Figure 11)
and 2) the number and status of cemeteries from 1840 to
1976 (Figure 12). A statistical measure, the index of
dissimilarity, is used to analyze the differences between

the number of burials within a cemetery and its status.

CHAPTER II
THE INFLUENCE OF POPULATION GROWTH ON THE LOCATION OF

CEMETERIES

The first priority of this research was to locate and
date the distribution of cemeteries in Waukesha County.
Although the question "Where is a cemetery located and how
old is it?" sounds simple, it can be difficult to answer.
Unmanaged cemeteries became overgrown and small cemeteries
were forgotten. Non-existent or scanty cemetery records
and faded and crumbled tombstones failed to precisely date
some cemeteries. These two problems, the location of all
the cemeteries that had ever existed in Waukesha County,
even thoSe long since removed from the landscape, and the
dating of all these cemeteries had never been attempted
before. These problems were evident to Price when he
stated:

"...one of the most important contributions
of a cemetery study is simply to provide an
accurate map showing age...and distribution
of cemeteries."1
A map and listing of cemeteries showing the age and
distribution of the 90 cemeteries established in Waukesha

County is located in Appendix B. The location and histor-

ical development of cemeteries in Waukesha County is

 

14Price, Cemetery Study, p. 206.

 

l6

depicted by maps in 20 year intervals between 1840 and 1960
(Figures 3-9), and in 1976 (Figure 10).

The movement of immigrants to Waukesha County did
not begin until the middle nineteenth century; its first
non-Indian permanent residents arrived in 1835. Settle-
ment proceeded at a rapid pace as there was much rich
agricultural land to be claimed. The first census, taken
in 1840, revealed 2,10815 settlers had chosen Waukesha
County as their permanent home. Death accompanied these
settlers as natural hazards and disease took their toll
here as in all the other areas of new settlements during
this pioneer era. These pioneers established in this new
land not only their homes but also their cemeteries.

In 1840 twelve cemeteries were dispersed throughout
the county (Figure 3). Ten of these twelve cemeteries
were privately owned or family cemeteries, one was reli-
gious, and the other government owned. Most of these
cemeteries were located on farms that were being estab-
lished during this time. This concurs with Curl's
statement that:

"...in the United States burial places were

first individual plots on farms or near the
houses of settlers."

 

15United States Bureau of the Census. All future
population data are taken from this source.

16James Stevens Curl, The Victorian Celebration of
Death, (London: David & Charles Limited, 1972), p. 170.

 

17

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1840

 

I I
- Lead/lo .
I I
' O .
' - . !
‘ ”agar/cla : . .
I ‘ = ' |
I .
. . '

   

 

   
   
   

° ’ I o .
77 : O I
l ........ 43—]. ........... I _____ . _ . _ . __'._ .— . — - —- -—'J.
WAUKESHA COUNTY
7
CEMETERIES WISC
. ACTIVE Wauhesho

Co.

— — —- County boundorles
TownshIp b0undaries

 

GGM

 

FIGURE 3

 

18

There are several very pragmatic reasons why this type
of ownership prevailed. First, many of these early settlers
were poor. These were people who had come to the area to
try and establish a home. Survival, both literal and
economic, was their foremost objective. They could i11—
afford the expense of transporting a body great distances
to be buried. Perhaps more important than the economic
aspect, these pioneers could less have afforded the time
it would have taken to transport their dead. The chief
mode of transportation was by foot or the horse and wagon.
A trip of any distance would have resulted in a loss of
many hours, or even days, of valuable work time. This
second factor, limited mobility, led to the development of
family cemeteries near the family focus. Thirdly, these
early settlers were widely scattered throughout the county.
Though there were early trade centers in the area, most of
the population lived on farms which were separated perhaps
by miles to the nearest neighbor. A feeling of rugged
individualism and "making it on one's own" prevailed. If
a family had problems, it solved them itself. If a death
occurred in the family, the burial was taken care of by
that family.

Rapid changes occurred in Waukesha County between
1840 and 1860. The population zoomed to nearly 27,000.
The county was growing out of its pioneer infancy to be-
come socially, politically and economically established.

These twenty years saw the greatest growth in the number of

19

cemeteries; 52 new sites were located and one was relocated
(Figure 4). Not only was this a drastic change in the
number of cemeteries in the county, but the type of ceme-
tery being established was also changing. Whereas in 1840
when most of the cemeteries were privately owned, almost
one-half (25 of 52) of the cemeteries established between
1840 and 1860 were religiously owned or affiliated with a
church. Of the other cemeteries established during this
period, privately owned cemeteries accounted for 19 sites
and 8 were government owned. This change in cemetery
ownership reflected the evolving settlement characteristics.
As the population grew and spread throughout the county,
neighbors weren't as far away as before. Villages were
formed to provide the basic needs of the population. A
road network was established to carry the population and
its products from their origins to their destinations. No
doubt feelings of interdependence, group and community were
emerging.‘ Institutions such as the church and government
fulfilled the religious and political needs, and fostered
the sense of community. Problems which previously were
resolved at an individual level were now handled at a
community level. Thus the problem of disposing of the
dead, previously an individual responsibility, became the
responsibility of the community.

Perhaps the strongest and most basic part of these
evolving communities was the church. Bernard has stated

that the traditional American cemetery was a burial place

20

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1860

 

  
     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

f‘ r * —————————————————— L I J __ _ _______

I

I

I ' . M

Momerey N. anemone:
: Lake Falls
I
L Lannon

: “gut/I: Stone Bun Merton ’

I

. Sussex

|

I

Ocqnomowoc .
Hartland I
Mpg-nag
fl 4 , Pewaukee
. Del Ia'IcI I ”MM. 11 " ‘ Bro: kflald
I 0
I3 _
O
I
|
|
l
I
I

 

I
I
I
I .1-
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
|
I
I
I
I
I

   

Oousman Wales , Waukesha

b I

/"I / I fi I

\ //f / I I

/ / I I I

, A , \ 0 New BerlIn

/' I

’ Genesee ‘ I

I—T" 1 -' / I I

/ '

/ I /

'9' I T ( I

j ——4 I I / I

,_ I 9 ‘ / I

, » I I r) I
.I I,

J ,« / I Muskeqo /I(

I 4“ ‘ I II "‘7 'I

J— V , o I f I’ ' I

/. . - , T a I :
V . \qu Bend //I 691.4:ch ,' JI
..— 1 I, /I t ’
Q Mukwonogo . 71g, 5 I I! CI, N
-./ x” ' I),
[I ,\.“ u l (I / r
£\A 1' _ II V 7 N —

 

WAUKESHA COUNTY

 

,./1

I/)
CEMETERIES Z (‘77
o ACTIVE \\ WISC II,"
Q RELOCATED I any-ii“
\___I

~ ~ CounIy bouwdorves
v T0wnshIp boundones
-— Roads

:- I 2 3 a E
—._~_—_;
.'. as

 

 

FIGURE 4

21

d.17 It was only natural that the church

in a churchyar
should be the focus in burying the dead. First, the
churchyard cemetery was part of the cultural baggage
brought by the German, English, Welsh and Irish settlers
which inhabited the area. What had been an accepted custom
in the "old country" was also established in this new one.
Second, it was emotionally appealing for the cemetery to

be located near the church. The church provided a service
for the deceased, laying the body to rest with all the
proper rites and providing a sacred resting place. Puckle

noted that the bodies buried in the churchyard

"...were considered in an exceptional senge,
as very closely united to the living..."

According to Warner, the churchyard cemetery fulfills the
fundamental "sacred" problem of the graveyard in providing
"...suitable symbols to refer to and express
man's hOpe of immortality through the sacred
belief and ritual of Christianity, and to 19
reduce his anxiety and fear about death..."

Third, since most churches were located in the same area

as its parishoners, the cemetery was in proximity to the

peOple who were using it. And fourth, the route to the

 

lI7Hugh Y. Bernard, The Law of Death and Disposal of
the Dead, (New York: Dobbs Ferry, Oceana Publications,
Inc., 1966), p. 69.

 

18Bertram Puckle, Funeral Customs: Their Origin‘and
DevelOpment (London: T. Werner Laurie Ltd., 1926; reissued
Detroit: Singing Tree Press, 1968), p. 142.

 

 

19W. L. Warner, The Living and the Dead (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1959), p. 285.

 

22

the church, followed by the people many times before, was
a well-known, well-traveled route.

The large number of cemeteries established between
1841 and 1860 is most likely explained by a dispersed
settlement pattern. Though the total population of the
county was 27,000 in 1860, each of the sixteen townships
in the county had over 1,000 inhabitants. Most of the
newcomers were engaged in agricultural endeavors and their
homes were dispersed throughout the area. The clergy, in
order to serve this population, had to locate their churches
near their parishoners. Small congregations in local areas
were established because of the dispersion and limited
mobility of the population. As a result, numerous churches
were also dispersed throughout the county. Along with
them came the churchyard cemetery.20

The same factors that influenced the dominant role
of privately owned cemeteries prior to 1840 were still in
effect in 1860. But because of the changes brought about

by rapid population growth the privately owned cemeteries

 

20Not once in Waukesha County did churches combine
to have one cemetery serve two or more congregations,
whether of the same or of different faiths. In fact, one
parish in Eagle Township split on an ideological question
and formed two separate congregations of the same faith.
The new congregation established their own cemetery, even
though the other already had one. There were several
instances where a church established two cemeteries. In
one case the first cemetery became full and a second was
established. In another example the church buildings were
relocated and a new cemetery was established, the old
cemetery remaining at a relict location at the old church
site.

23

were subordinate to religiously owned cemeteries. The
privately owned cemeteries were undergoing a change in the
type of persons who controlled the plots. Originally,

the privately owned cemetery was a family cemetery, a site
on the family farm. With the passing of time and subse-
quent increase in population, families realized that contin-
uing this practice would result in a macabre, emotionally
unpleasant landscape dotted with small cemeteries. Groups
of people united to form cemetery associations, in which
persons were allowed to obtain burial plots. Some of these
associations were restricted by ethnic background and/or
religious persuasion, while others had unrestricted

21

membership. The associations helped provide an orderly

manner for disposal of the dead and were legally upheld by
state law.22
Another type of cemetery also appeared on the land-
scape -- the government owned cemetery. Men began to
realize that the pOpulation would continue to grow and that

planning was necessary to provide themselves and future

generations with suitable burial grounds. Governmental

 

21Other researchers, notably Darden; Hardwick; and
Jessica Mitford, The American Way of Death (New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1963), p. 128, have noted restrictions
due to race and membership in fraternal organization, but
there is no factual evidence supporting either case
occurring in Waukesha County.

22The Laws of Wisconsin, first published in 1848,
included an act to provide for the incorporation of ceme-
tery associations and set requirements for their establish-
ing a cemetery.

 

 

24

groups designated areas for cemeteries where disease could
not spread to the populace through the drinking water23 and
would not interfere with the future expansion of built-up
urban areas.24 Cemeteries which served villages, cities,
and townships containing varied religious communities,
ethnic groups, and families were established in an attempt
to have the dead buried in a manner acceptable to the
entire population.

During the period 1861 to 1880 twelve cemeteries were
established (Figure 5). This is a substantial increase
when compared to the small increase in pOpulation, only
2,100 more than in 1860. Why would such a large number of
cemeteries be established with such a small increase in
population? The settlement pattern was becoming more
consolidated and the patterns of interaction of the
inhabitants were more sharply defined than they were in
1860. The institutions serving these people also continued
to grow in number and importance. More churches were

created as settlement progressed, and alongside many of

them cemeteries were established. Nine of the twelve

 

23A concern for water borne diseases being transmit-
ted from the dead to the living was very real during these
times. This concern is reflected in legal form in the
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 157, Section 6, Subsection 1c
where it is stated “No cemetery shall be established or
located within 15 rods of a ...watering place."

24Laws dating from 1864 prohibit the location of a
cemetery within the limits of a city or village or record-
ed plat of the same. Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 419, 1864.

 

 

25

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1880

Pewoukee

Berlin

.
K BIq Bend
\

  

,I if” -
WAUKESHA COUNTY

   

CEMETERIES
\ .
O ACTIVE \ W'SC I
k INCA-F

I INACTIVE ‘3
L—B

Q RELOCATED

 

, Coanly bour‘danes
Townsmp boundones

—— Roads
: I 2 3 a :

 

 

FIGURE 5

26

cemeteries established in this period were owned by churches.
The other three were privately owned. It is also during
this period that two cemeteries were relocated and one
became inactive.

Only six cemeteries were established between 1881 and
1900 (Figure 6). The years for locating a large number of
new cemeteries were now past as the cemeteries already on
the landscape absorbed the dead. POpulation growth remain-
ed slow; it increased only 6,000 to 35,229 in 1900. Com-
munities had been established for two generations by this
time, and the basic needs of those communities, the ceme-
tery included, were being fulfilled. Of the six cemeteries
established during this period, three were owned by
churches. Two cemeteries became inactive.

'The number of active cemeteries had increased in every
period up to 1900, but between 1901 and 1920 that number
decreased (Figure 7). While four cemeteries were newly
established, two cemeteries were relocated and five ceme-
teries became inactive.25 This decreased the total number
of active cemeteries by two, although the pOpulation had
grown to nearly 42,612. Of the four cemeteries established
during this period, three were church owned. The other

cemetery was a new site for the inactive cemetery on the

 

25The Bidwell Cemetery became both inactive and
relocated over a course of seven years during this period.
Rather than seven cemeteries involved in status changes as
implied here, only six sites actually changed status, with
the Bidwell Cemetery changing its status twice.

27

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1900

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lar non A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Sussex
Pomona
:.’..L::." .-
a "old
_/———I _
' j
/ I
Waukesha I
_\/»————+
I l__l/””"—I-
/ ; I
t I
/ BorIIn

 

 

//

Genesee
O

 

 

NI Prairie

/’ -_.._.. . j if}

 

,7 _ . Muskego
. I - --
I /' j I———- I/ili/

I
:‘I I \\ III'\ /‘ ,x'”
— —7’\ ._ ( ,/ Big Bend
I Eagle 1; ) “‘—“ ’ ‘40:, ~,/ ,

‘ / .._. .' I /
. V /.. - \i r /
I -1 I,,,-—«'-‘t : Mukwonaqo /,.—\Q//
_ , / . //' /
/

 

 

I

. ) A \
k’ 4 II \x I
I

C I , . / , I
)CNJ I; 1.“; / / ,z _. - - - - _ _ -"
. _g-4 ‘ - - «7 W m _ | "‘,/ _ I _ __ ,.I . /,/ , . - _ .1 - u-.. .-— — ._ — -

WAUKESHA COUNTY

-—-—.v-2

CEMETERIES S
WI C I
O ACTIVE \ (

hag-esro

ml

    

INACTIVE

  

. RE LOCATED

-— C0unly boundorIes
Township b0undories
—— Roads

 

MINES

GGII

 

FIGURE 6

 

28

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1920

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I»

II

 

 

 

 

 

Merton

 

Sussex

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and
Pawnukee

: 1.. ;
I 71-5.. c 2
I :3 l ‘ .
I ' g
5:00! Iold'g; whygfisg

l ; -- .‘»‘ §

I

I

I ;

5

I .

l

I

I

I

I
I

I
l

I

I

I
I

I
I
A
I
I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iflmes

 

 

 

 

 

Genesee
O

 

 

N, Prairie
I

 

 

 

 

 

 

I" :' , / //" ’-
I _ x x ,1 I“. /’
quw ,1 /,~’ —’
,0

,9
”i4:(rukw0noqo //,,:9,/
. €,j// -I_\3;%—7jf~ {///; -.._.w

   

WAUKESHA COUNTY

 
 
  
  

CEMETERIES

WISC. /
o ACTIVE

heuhesfis(

I INACTIVE Co -\

 
   
 

Q RELOCATEO
» ~ C0unIy boundanes

TownShIp boundaries
—— Roads

66M

 

FIGURE 7

 

29

Waukesha County Poor Farm. The cemetery on the old Poor
Farm was relocated and remained inactive.

The number of cemeteries established between 1921 and
1940 continued to be small, following the trend of the
previous two periods (Figure 8). Five new cemeteries
appeared; two were privately owned, two church owned and
one government owned. The two privately owned cemeteries
represented the emergence of a different type of private
ownership. Previous privately owned cemeteries were often
small, family plots or cemetery association types. These
two new cemeteries represented a business enterprise: the
corporation cemetery. Though these two cemeteries were of
the latest to be established within Waukesha County, they
are presently two of the largest; each contains more than
12,000 bodies, ranking them first and third in the county
in total number of burials. Three cemeteries became
inactive.

No cemeteries were established between 1941 and 1960
(Figure 9). The population rapidly expanded, increasing
from 62,744 in 1940 to 158,249 in 1960. However, the
total number of active cemeteries decreased significantly
during this time as six cemeteries became inactive and two
were relocated.

The population continued its meteoric rise to 231,338
in 1970. Yet with this increased population and the accom-

panying increase in the number of deaths, no new cemeteries

3O

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1940

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Lar non
Merton §

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and

 

Moor/two
..Z L

 

Pancakes

 

 

 

; i 3;; . I .. ._-,..'-
‘00Ia Iald ”ma" B I.“ ..
5 ;

 

 

 

 

0Dous an 5 Waukesha
Wales

 

 

 

 

BarlIn

 

 

Genesea

0/
N. Prairie /A I’
/ I
/ I

 

 

 

 

 

. ‘\' - i '7‘; |
[I .4 I I
I/ \L I", ///
. Eagle TTI‘A“; '*”
1 ,f‘I" fiflMukwonaq
V ~ ‘17.}, ., /
I, I 4, / .
I ' /

0
\ v/
._._._____.____r'__‘...\.,__._ 1..-,“ I AA_/.-...._.-.-

/.
P :

  

CEMETERIES I /,

o ACTIVE \ W‘SC

I
. INACTIVE I 5.
' RELOCATED - —‘

- - - C0umy baundanes
.. TownShID boundarles
—— Roads

5
E .

GGI

 

FIGURE 8

 

31

 

 

CEMETERIES- 1960

.—_——_,__._,-

 

 

 

 

 

 

: M II... g; I

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sussex

 

 

 

 

 

 

.................................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0°” °" 1 5 Waukasha
WaIes i

 

 

 

 

Berlin ‘

 

 

G‘nesee

 

 

 

 

 

I I
\\ I'r-—+--~-‘ '
I I ,
/ _I_\4~_. _’ / A.” 859 Bend

Ea III ,I’
I 9 V.

 

WAUKESHA COUNTY

CEMETERIES I
o ACTIVE

   
 

wnsc, //

Waukesha I

(«o-I
.___I

I INACTIVE
' RELOCATED

- — —- CaunIy baundarIes
TownshIp boundaries
—— Roads

 

66“

 

FIGURE 9

 

32

were established between 1961 and 197626

(Figure 10).
Four cemeteries became inactive. Fewer cemeteries were
fulfilling the burial needs of the pOpulation.

As the population increased, the number of active

cemeteries per thousand (NAC/T) people decreased (Figure
11). This was not always as pronounced as it was in the
more recent years. Between 1860 and 1910 the NAC/T dropped
only from 2.27 to 2.05. The low increase in pOpulation and
the continuation of the establishment of new cemeteries
accounted for this small decrease. In fact, the NAC/T
actually increased between 1860 and 1880. Since 1910 the
NAC/T has dr0pped rather dramatically, from 2.05 to .29 in
1970. Much of this decrease can be accounted for by the
rapid increase in population from 37,100 to 231,338.
The growth in the number of active cemeteries in no way
came close to paralleling the population growth. In fact
the opposite occurred; the number of active cemeteries
decreased. There were 76 active cemeteries in 1910 and
only 67 in 1970.

The growth of the number of cemeteries in Waukesha

County since the 1830's has been dynamic (Figure 12).

 

26Though no cemeteries were established that met the
minimum criteria of five bodies contained on the site,
there is a record of an individual buried on a farm in 1971
(0conomowoc Enterprise, December 16, 1971). This establish-
ed a private cemetery on the “family farm" which may someday
meet the criteria of the definition of a cemetery. This is
also the only burial site containing less than five inter-
ments which is considered active. See the end of Table 7,
Appendix B.

 

33

 

 

CEMETERIES-1976

—_._I l

I

I E
: Momerey N '
I Lake

I

l

I

I

r-_ _._.__._.-____,____..

 

 

 

My» I? ‘ I
Srone Bank _ MerIon
A :
I 0:09;»; L17 P2" Sussex
A ' /

I
OcaInornowoc

(.0:
z call/o

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
   
   
  

' Okébchee
V

 

Harfland

 

Migancln
I A

I

    

Pewaukee

.1

I%

Dons an
Wales Waukesha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Berlin

 

  
 
 

'BIg Bend
. \, > V - V

WAUKESHA COUNTY

     
      

  

g
CEuETERIEs I ”fl
0 ACTIVE W'SC
I INACTIVE "“"g-‘I
' RELOCATED ‘_J
~ CoanIy baundones
Townshvp boundanes
—Roads
’3 2 .5 4 5
Mues

 

FIGURE 10

 

34

 

 

Ohmfiétofi .EDOU <I$XD<3 2. 20:5;
OOOH mun $.33in N>E< $0 mania-2 my:

 

 

WWW coat/manna: IAIDV $0 I”

 

 

FIGURE 11

35

 

 

 

Chad

 

 

chm." .03."

   

mmehwEmU E300 (lav-:(g k0
m=h<hm 02¢ cumin-2 NI...

   

£53 a
9:53.. a

32632. B

2:15

4

IA

L

S 3

WI) £0 noun“

 

FIGURE 12

 

 

36

Ninety cemeteries were established over this period of
time and 83 remain on the landscape. The number of ceme-
teries grew rapidly, from 12 in 1840 to 62 in 1860 and 76
in 1880. But only 14 new cemetery sites were established
in the following 90 years! Between 1840 and 1880 two
cemeteries became inactive and three were relocated.
Since 1880 the number of active cemeteries has fluctuated;
a high of 77 existed in 1940 with a low of 67 in 1976.
Two trends are readily apparent. First, fewer cemeteries
have been established in recent years. Indeed no new
cemetery has been established in the county since 1936!
Second, the number of cemeteries becoming inactive or
relocated is continually increasing. Eighteen cemeteries
have changed from active status since 1880, ten of these
since 1940. Fewer cemeteries are serving more and more
peOple.

There has also been a trend apparent in the type of
ownership of cemeteries. The first cemeteries were mainly
privately owned, either by a single family or an associa-
tion of peOple. With the advent of more social structure,
the church became the chief proprietor of the cemetery.
Most recently, the corporation cemetery has become the most
important type. But these cemeteries, much larger both in
area and number of burials than earlier ones, are being
used as business ventures.

The first hypothesis of this study: as population

increased the number of cemeteries decreased, was rejected.

37

Figure 12 graphically portrayed that the number of cemeter-
ies between 1840 and 1976 rapidly increased during the

early years of settlement, slowed and remained constant for
the past 40 years but did not decrease. However, the number
of active cemeteries decreased. In conjunction with this
decrease in the number of active cemeteries since 1940, the
population increased over 400%. These data cause the first
hypothesis to be rejected because as the pOpulation increas-
ed, the number of cemeteries did not decrease but remained
the same. The first hypothesis would have been accepted

if it had read: as population increased the number of

active cemeteries decreased.

CHAPTER III

FACTORS AFFECTING THE LOCATION OF CEMETERIES

The location of a cemetery was a manifestation of a
pe0p1e's conscious recognition of the physical and cultural
characteristics of a certain area; it was not a haphazard
occurrence. Various authors have noted that elevation,
drainage capabilities and fertility of the soil, and
natural beauty were physical factors which affected the
choice of a cemetery site.27 Proximity to the potential
users, accessibility, cost of land and relationship to
population growth have been cited as cultural factors
which influenced cemetery location.28

Rarely did any one of these factors determine exactly

where a cemetery was located. In most cases a combination

of various factors influenced the selection of the site.

 

27The Cemetery Handbook, Park & Cemetery Publishing
Co., Madison, Wisconsin; and Donald Drewes, Cemeternyand
Planning (Pittsburgh: Matthews Memorial Bronze, 1964).

28Darden, in his study of the location of Pittsburgh's
cemeteries, determined that proximity to the majority of
potential users, ease of access and cost of land were
cultural locational factors. The Cemetery;Handbook and
Cemetery Land Planning cited the importance of the direction
and type of urban growth as additional factors.

 

 

 

 

39

It has been argued that in certain instances none of these
factors influenced cemetery location. Price29 states that
the most important locational factor of small, old, unmarked
cemeteries in southern Illinois was the place of death.

But he also makes the point that these cemeteries were
frequently located along major transportation routes; they
were located in accessible areas. Price did not analyze
these cemeteries' locations in relation to the local
setting. Had this analysis been done, it could have sup-
ported the location of this type of cemetery in the best
possible physical setting within the immediate area. There-
fore, other factors, besides the place of death, ultimately
may have played a role in determining the exact location of
those cemetery sites. Another example of a previously
unmentioned factor having a dominant influence on the
location of a cemetery occurred when land was donated for
use as a cemetery. In these cases, an area of land was
specified by a donor to be used as a burial place. It
could be argued that the most important factor affecting
the location of such a cemetery was the cost of land; it
was free. In one situation, a small cemetery was estab-
lished on a farm. The property owner, having some members

of his family buried there, did not desire to see the

 

29Price, "Cemetery Study," p. 201.

40

cemetery overgrown by vegetation and forgotten. To avoid
this, he deeded the property to a cemetery association to
ensure the continued use and maintenance of the cemetery.
In analyzing this type of cemetery, it was necessary to
examine the factors which affected the location of the
first, original family cemetery and not the latter. The
donation of land for use as a cemetery in this case merely
preserved the existence of that cemetery. But what about
instances where land was donated for the establishment of
a cemetery? What about instances where personal, business
or political influence resulted in the location of a
cemetery?30 In all these examples the land on which a
cemetery was going to be established still had to have
been deemed acceptable in the minds of the peOple for whom
it was meant to serve. Otherwise, the cemetery would not
have been established. This acceptance and continued use
of cemetery sites reflected common characteristics and
patterns of cemetery locations.

The cemeteries of Waukesha County revealed common
characteristics when the actual cemetery site was analyzed
in relation to physical and cultural factors. They have
been located in areas of relatively high elevation, gently

to moderately SIOping land and well-drained soils.

 

3oSid J. Hare and S. Robert Hare, "Complete
Development of the Modern Cemetery," The Cemetery Handbook,
Park and Publishing Co., Madison, Wisconsin, p. 201.

41

The location of cemeteries in areas of relatively
high elevation is not peculiar to this area. This factor

31 and Darden32. It has

was noted by both Francaviglia
been stated:
"The American people seem to have a defined
dislike to low ground, either for the living
or the dead."33
The dislike of low ground, especially that subject to
innundation, was very strong. A flooded cemetery was
considered a health hazard. Diseases from the dead were
feared to be carried through the water to the living.
Besides being least susceptible to flooding, hi11t0p or
hillside locations were desirable for other reasons.
During the early years of settlement, these areas were
undesirable in derms of agriculture and urban expansion.
Locating a cemetery in those areas lessened the possibility
of encroachment by other types of land use and assured
permanency of the selected site. Kniffen noted:
1 "...it is a fact that historic graveyards...
in rural glaciated areas of the Great Lakes
Region (e.g. Waukesha County)...are invariably
-placed on ridges."

A hilltOp location also had strong religious appeal. The

Christian faith, with Jesus Christ's death and ascension

 

31Francaviglia, "Evolving Lanscape," p. 505.

32Darden, "Location of Cemeteries," p. 8.

33The Cemetery Handbook, p. 204.

 

34Kniffen, "Necrogeography, p. 427.

42

occurring on hilltops, gave these areas a profound spirit-
ual significance. In Waukesha County 54% of the cemeteries
were located on a hilltOp or a hillside.

The variations in the elevation of land not only
affected the location of a cemetery in relation to the
surrounding area but also the location of burials within
the cemetery itself. The highest ground within a cemetery
was the most preferred place for burial. It was the area
least susceptible to flooding and was the most conspicuous
site, lendinga notable distinction to those buried there.
Very often the earliest burials occurred at these points.
This was especially true of the family owned cemeteries.
It has been observed that in other cemeteries, especially
in those where lots were sold, any small rise in elevation
of one lot over another resulted in an attendant rise in

36 37 38

cost of the higher ground.35 Warner, Mitford, Young

and Kniffen39

all note the cemetery as a mirror of the lives
of the people buried within it. One reflection of contemp-

orary cemeteries was the status of wealth of an individual.

 

35Planning Advisory Service, Cemeteries in the City
Plan, Information Report No. 16 (Chicago: American Society
of Planning, 1950), p. 17.

36W.L.‘Warner, The Living and the Dead, (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1959), p. 280.

37

 

 

Mitford, American Death, p. 128.

 

38Young, "Graveyards," pp. 446-450.

39Kniffen, "Necrogeography," p. 427.

43

People with the highest status of wealth most likely were
buried on the highest ground within the cemetery.

Even though hills and hillsides were the favored
locations for cemeteries it was and still is important
that the land was not leping too severely. Excavating
graves was a difficult task on severely sloping land. The
ideal type of land for cemeteries was described as:

"Gently rolling terrain...for drainage and
for the most attractive landscaping treatment."

40
Approximately 75% of the cemeteries in Waukesha County

were located on land that had a gentle or moderate slope
(2-12%).

Drainage characteristics of the soil was a very
important overall consideration in choosing a cemetery site.
The peOple who established cemeteries wanted their ceme-
teries to be functional, practical, and permanent burial
places. These peOple had a dislike to low lying area; they
tended to choose elevated and leping land. They also
wanted to be able to excavate the graves with relative ease,
thus eliminating extremely rocky, gravelly, mucky or hard-
pan clay areas from their choice of sites. The remaining
land, that which was to be considered for the cemetery,

tended to be in areas of well-drained soils. This was

especially true in Waukesha County (Figure 13). Only three

40Drewes, Planning, p. 6.

44

 

 

 
 
 
  
    
     

   

Monterey

Stone Bank

0102/00; :
. ,1
Okauchee

 

 

 

 

 

  

06mm

 

SOIL ASSOCIATIONS

POOILV numan
uouenrou-PALus-Aonun uucx

menu To "LL DIAINED

N IOITOOIEIV- IAK'I’IITON-NEIION-UAYLEIVILLE IILTV CLAY
0AM, SILT LOAI, LOAI

E PELL A SILT LOAI /

S

   

 

 

1 roon oumw WISC’ I
"LL ° " CEMETERIES
OZAUIEI-IOILEV-IIOUOI s-u LOAI
. ACTIVE
WELL oumzo 7
[:1 FOX-CASCO LOAI. sAuov LOAI I 'NACTIVE
Inna-Lonnie LOAI ' RELOCATED
Comfy boundaries
DOVER-OINTEIO Lou" uuo
‘ Township boundaries
NOCNHElI—TNEREIA LOAI. sun LOAI Roads
:xctunvuv ouuun
noonu-cAsco Low. snszLv LOAI °'2_._._._9__1__?
Miles
sounce: souL sunvzv or muuuxu nan uuxzsm couunzs. mscousm. mu nu

 

 

FIGURE 13

45

of the county's 90 cemeteries were located in areas of
either poorly or poorly to well drained soils. Of the
remaining 87 cemeteries, 20 were located on well to poorly
drained soils on the eastern edge of the county; the rest
were situated on well or excessively drained soils.

The significance of the drainage characteristics in
relation to the cemetery location was even greater when each
site was considered separately on a micro scale. Figure 13
provides a general, overall representation of soil associa-
tion and drainage characteristics at the county level.
Analysis of each cemetery site as compared with the large

scale (1:15,840) USDA Soil Survey41

maps revealed variations
of drainage characteristics within both the broad classifi-
cation scheme in Figure 13 and the cemeteries themselves.
After analyzing each cemetery site with these maps, only
four cemetery sites were classified as being located on
poorly drained soils and two others on poorly to well-
drained soils. The remaining 93% of the cemeteries were
located on moderately well or well-drained soils. This
vividly illustrates that that cemeteries in Waukesha County
were located on adequately drained soils.

Cultural factors also affected the location of ceme-

teries here. Accessibility, the nearness to a transporta-

tion route, and proximity, the nearness to the user

41United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Survey.

46

population, were two factors that had a dominant and
dynamic influence on cemetery locations.

The founders of the cemeteries of Waukesha County
were very cognizant of the need for accessibility to
their chosen sites. When a person died, it was much easier
to take them to a cemetery adjacent to a public transporta-
tion route than to go traipsing over hill and dale to reach
a burial plot on the "back 40". In Waukesha County all but
four of the cemeteries (96%) were located within 100 yards
of a public transportation route.

One explanation for the high degree of accessibility
of cemeteries here was the fact that a well deve10ped road
network already existed in the county in 1859 (Figure 14).
Because this road network was established early, settlers
had little problem finding suitable, accessible cemetery
sites. Nearly all the cemeteries were adjacent to roads.
Only three of 63 cemetery sites were considered inaccessible
in 1860.

Two of the three inaccessible cemeteries were private
family plots, the other was inaccessible due to its location
on a secluded religious mission. Price's research in
southern Illinois led him to state that small family plots
which were located on individual farms were usually in-

accessible by road.42 Applying his criteria to Waukesha

 

42Price, "Cemetery Study," p. 202.

47

 

ROAD NETWORK- 1859

 

 

 

 

 

 

2..» — l

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Stone Bonk

 

  

 

 

5......

 

 

 

 

nlond

 

Pewukeo

 

 

8 "Id
__J r O

m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dous an i Waukesha

 

 

 

In Berlin .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I
|
Ganesee I
I
I
N. Prairie y :
/ /_'+_——__ :
/ y _ |
r.‘ I

/ I V_ x _ Muskeqo

f/ \ /

‘ I _l /g/

 

I Eagle I
I I Mukwonaqo/
OK //
__________ __ - _\- _ - _.V _. _ -. _ Vl- ._ - .. .. ..

 

WAUKESHA COUNTY

 
 
     

 

 

CEMETERIES 4
WISC, /
O ACTIVE I
Wad-e503
Ila-K
___ C0unty baundcmes
. Township DOundOrIes
—-Roods
c . 2 3 4 5
Mzes
L‘sounce. PLAYS mo LAND suns, uuxcsm co. loss 55,.

 

 

FIGURE 14

48

County resulted in two of six small family plots considered
inaccessible. This low number of examples would not lend
itself to a definitive statement, but does tend to differ
from Price's findings. Differences of the two areas:
topography, population growth and the development of the
road network, undoubtedly had a varying effect on the type
and location of cemeteries in each area.

The importance of accessibility of a cemetery site was
even more apparent in the period from 1859 until today
(Figure 15). One cemetery of the 27 established was
located at an inaccessible site. This occurred because of
the cemetery's association with the old, remotely situated
county poor farm and its subsequent relocation to an
obscure location on the grounds of the Waukesha County Home
and Hospital.

Pattison noted rail lines became important transporta-
tion routes in relation to the location of cemeteries out-
ward from the heart of Chicago. But the railroad had
little, if any, effect on the location of cemeteries in
Waukesha County.

The founders of cemetery sites knew that not only
should a cemetery be accessible, it should also be in
proximity to the potential user, namely, themselves. In
Waukesha County 82% (74 of 90) cemeteries were in proximity
to their potential user.

The strongest example of this characteristic is shown

in the privately owned cemetery group where all but two of

49

 

 

ROAD NETWORK-1976

, .7, ,
Stone Ban .3 Metton 74—“

 

 

 

 

 

 
  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tam”? 7‘11

2‘ Okeechee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

rt|and

 

. H Pewaukee Im’

I\—-d .;. . '3’ """ . ." '

1 ~ . 94 '54
Dan: on Waukesha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Berlin

 

 

/

    
    

I
l

I

I

I

I I

I ,/ /”
I

I

I

l

I

I

I

Gene see -’/
' 4:6

 

 

N. Praine

 

/‘

w. 2‘ f
I Muskeqo

. 5m V
[VI/glean y'

\. I g,“
I. _(__fi/ @

WAUKESHA COUNTY

CEMETERIES {r \
,7

o ACTIVE k p"!

I.
«”106

 

    

 

 

 

Eagle I" .' " I,» it
. ('1 /_‘\ (”M k
-7 .-.l- ”EFT‘Ifl-j \ u wonago
. "I, \_ w H. z , tilfi\'~._ /

 

I INACTIVE \ I"
‘u'v’JJ' .’-.'I
' RELOCATED a; .1.

-- C0unty boundorIes
-. - Township boundones
—— Roads

59 State

sounu: mscousm DEPARTMENT or tnuseonnnon 66“

 

FIGURE 15

 

50

35 were considered in proximity to their users. Most of
this type of cemetery appeared in the first years of
settlement; 25 had already been established by 1850. Many
were small family plots located on the family farm. The
private cemeteries established later, especially those
after 1900, were corporation cemeteries designed as a busi-
ness enterprise. It was a sound cemetery business practice
to locate in proximity to the "market" area.

Religious owned cemeteries were located in proximity
to their potential user; 35 of 44 were within one mile of
the focus of worship. Many religious cemeteries were
located on the same grounds as the church. Several are
presently at isolated, relict locations because the church
has been relocated and the buildings removed. Others were
a short distance from their respective churches. Of the
nine cemeteries which were not considered to be in proximity
to their potential user, four were located between one and
two miles from their respective churches. Another had as
its potential users the Jewish population of Milwaukee
County. Two other cemeteries were renovated burial sites.
They were located adjacent to older cemeteries which had
become inactive or contained more room than could ever have
been used by the former owners and now share or have assumed
control of those cemeteries.

Only six of eleven government owned cemeteries
reflected the proximity factor. The five cemeteries that

did not meet the criteria were township owned cemeteries.

51

They were not located within a one mile radius of the
geographic center (the point of intersection of sections
15, 16, 21 and 22) of the township. However, four of these
five were located within one and one-half miles of this
center. If the strict proximity factor were increased by
just 1/2 mile, then ten of the eleven government owned
cemeteries would have been considered in proximity to the
potential users. It may have been unfair to judge the
proximity of the government owned cemeteries, especially
those owned by townships, where a 36 square mile area was
being related as the potential users' area, with the same
criteria as those cemeteries where there was a point of
potential user focus, as in the private family cemetery
or the churchyard cemetery.

Well drained soils, accessibility to transportation
routes and proximity to potential users were common loca-
tional characteristics of the cemeteries of Waukesha County.
The data exhibited in the soils map, further supported by
individual site analysis using the United States Department
of Agriculture Soil Survey, revealed 93% of all cemeteries
were located on moderately well or well-drained soils.

The road network developed rapidly and made all parts of
the study area accessible before 1859 (Figure 14). This
net provided access to many points, including those places
where cemeteries were established. Ninety-six percent of
all cemeteries were located within 100 yards of a public

transportation route. Cemeteries were also located near

52

to the peOple who would use them. Though this character-
istic varied between the different ownership categories, the
data indicated that 82% of all cemeteries were located in
proximity to their potential users. The second hypothesis
of this research: cemeteries were located in areas of well-
drained soils, on accessible transportation routes and in
proximity to potential users, was supported by the data

and was accepted.

The cemeteries of Waukesha County had certain common
characteristics in relation to their location. It can not
be said of most cemeteries that one factor determined the
location of a cemetery. No doubt several factors were
interwoven to form the present fabric of cemetery locations.
In Waukesha County the key elements of this fabric were
relatively high elevation, gently to moderate slope, well-
drained soils, accessibility and proximity to potential

users.

CHAPTER IV

FACTORS AFFECTING INAVTIVE AND RELOCATED CEMETERIES

Physical, cultural and political factors affected the
original location of cemetery sites in Waukesha County.

As time passed, these factors played a varying role in
altering the status and existing pattern of cemeteries.

Some cemeteries flourished and remained active as burial
centers. Others had a diminishing number of bodies interred
and became less important. In some, no new burials occurred
and the cemetery became inactive. Still others were
relocated; they were completely removed from the land-
scape. How many of Waukesha County's cemeteries have
changed status to become inactive or relocated? What
factors caused cemeteries to become inactive or relocated?
Have these factors affected cemetery status throughout the
county's history or are they a recent phenomena? Are there
discernible characteristics of inactive and relocated
cemeteries and can they be predicted, or are they to be
considered individually unique?

More than 25% of Waukesha County's cemeteries (23 out
of 90) have changed from active to either inactive or
relocated status. Of these 23 sites, 16 became inactive and
seven were relocated. Inactive and relocated cemeteries

are not new phenomena. Already in 1865 two cemeteries had

54

become inactive and three were relocated. No changes
occurred from that time until after the turn of the century.
Since 1900 there has been a relatively constant number of
cemeteries which have become inactive and relocated. The
greatest increase in the number of cemeteries changing
status occurred between 1940 and today; ten cemeteries have
become inactive.

The most predominant characteristic associated with
inactive and relocated status was the number of burials
within a cemetery (Figure 16). Every cemetery in Waukesha
County that became inactive or relocated had less than 200
burials. The index of dissimilarity between active and
inactive or relocated cemeteries illuminates the importance
of the size factor (Table 2). In this simple statistical
measure, an index of dissimilarity (id) of 100 would
indicate complete dissimilarity between the data groups
(the size of the cemetery) and the data types (cemetery
status). An id of 0 would indicate complete similarity
between the data groups and types. The id of 88 in this
example supported the contention that cemeteries which
contained a low number of burials were more likely to
become inactive or relocated than cemeteries with a high
number of burials. In Waukesha County 23 of 31 cemeteries
containing less than 200 burials became inactive or relocat-
ed; none of the 59 cemeteries containing 200 or more

burials changed status.

55

 

 

NUMBER OF BURIALS AND STATUS-1976

CEME T E RIE S
I ACTIVE
m INACTIVE

1- '0 RELOCATED

NUMBER OF BURIALS

OOflOC.UN-‘
§
0
O
I
§

ABOVE 9999

/, , ,V,
WAUKESHA COUNTY

L \
\ WISC “5
A1. ':‘I‘

\ IL

— ,_ Comty boundaries
Township boundaries

—— Roads
0 I 2 ' 4 5
V1. es

 

 

FIGURE 16

 

56

I m I
mm I o.oha I.NHm I pa

 

 

 

 

 

 

o.mbH OOH MN 00H be mA¢BOB

India]: I II....| Imifl. limil 33 96%
o.m I I o.m m mmmNIOOON
v.0H I I v.0H h mmmaloooa
m.MN I I m.MN ma mmmloom
«.0H I I v.0H h mmwloow
m.HH I I a.HH m mmMIoom
m.hH I I m.bH NH mmNIOON
v.HN v.0m h o.m o mmHIOOH
m.mw m.am ma o.m N mmlm

IIIMWMNII mmflHumEmo ,mmflnmuoaoo, mmflumumEoo moaumuofioo mamwusm no
mo pmumooamm can topmooHom w>wuo¢ mo o>fluo¢ Honadz
msam> m>fluomcH mo paw o>fluomcH HmnEsz Hmuoa mo uanEsz

ousHomnm Honssz Hmuoa mo nonEdz no ucmonm

mo usmoumm

mmflumumamo pmumoonm
Mo m>HuomcH can m>auo¢ cmm3uwm “pay mpwumaaefimmflo mo wacH

N mamdfi

57

Though the number of burials within a cemetery was a
strong indicator of status change, it did not determine that
a cemetery became inactive or relocated. Another factor
that affected cemetery status in Waukesha County was
pOpulation density. As part of the Milwaukee SMSA and
linked to that city by major transportation routes, the
county consisted mainly of suburbs and suburban sprawl over
the rural countryside. Generally, the population density
varied from east to west. The highest pOpulation densities
were in the eastern townships bordering Milwaukee County
and the lowest densities farthest from there. The number
of inactive and relocated cemeteries varied between the
areas of highest and lowest population densities (Figure
17). The quartile of townships with the highest pOpulation
density contained the highest number of cemeteries that had
changed status; six cemeteries became inactive and three
were relocated. The second quartile included five inactive
and three relocated cemeteries. The third quartile
contained only two inactive cemeteries and the bottom
quartile contained three inactive and one relocated ceme-
tery. These data indicate a relationship between popula-
tion density and inactive and relocated cemeteries.

Areas of high population density impeded the expansion
of old cemeteries. The earliest cemeteries were founded as
a functional place to bury the dead. Small plots on family
farms, churchyard sites and township cemeteries were

established as the need arose. Enough land was set aside

58

 

 

   

POPULATION DENSITY- 1970

thus an

 

POPULATION / SQUARE

IIT- 207

[:1

ZBI - MG

- 748- |225

 

SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU

0‘

Wales

N. Prairie V

 

 

Menomonee
Fol Is

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waukesha

Genesee

MILE (QUARTILESI

CEMsus.

CEMETERIES
I INACTIVE

' RELOCATED

IOTO

FIGURE 17

Lunnon

Butler

Brookfleld

 

New Berlin

 

WAUKESHA COUNTY

  

WISC

  
   

II. Dumbo
w I

~ — . County boundaries
, Tawnship boundaries
— Roads

 

59

in each case to serve the anticipated burial needs of each
group. But as time passed many changes occurred. The most
dramatic change was the population density; it increased
by 400% between 1940 and 1970! Accompanying this rise was
greater competition for land. Urban and suburban land use
types invaded new areas, competed with the predominately
rural, agricultural land use types and were willing to pay
higher land costs. Large areas were converted to urban and
suburban land use. Cemeteries which had been in low density
areas became circumvented by these higher density types
of land use. Cemeteries which had exhausted their area for
burials or had only a limited area remaining often could not
compete for this expensive land. These cemeteries could not
expand and remain as viable burial places. Cemeteries with
a small number of burials, haVing little cash reserves from
the sale of its small number of plots, were especially at
a disadvantage. Many of these became inactive. Of the 16
cemeteries which became inactive and remain on the land-
scape, ten have occurred since 1940. Several other active
cemeteries were surrounded by built-up areas and had sold
all their plots. These should become inactive in the near
future.

Population density acts as a deterrent to establishing
new cemeteries as well as to the expansion of old ones.
In the last 50 years only 4 cemeteries were established in
Waukesha County, the latest in 1936. Two of these cemeter-

ies, Wisconsin Memorial Park and Highland Memorial Park,

60

each larger than 120 acres in size and containing more than
10,000 burials, were the new type of corporation cemeteries
that served the entire metropolitan Milwaukee area. Both
were in densely populated suburban areas. What is the
future of these cemeteries? Will they become inactive as
the other cemeteries which had been circumvented by high
density land use? Highland had ample room remaining but
Wisconsin Memorial Park was constructing a multi-story
mausoleum, partially in consideration of the limitations
and expense of land. The other two cemeteries founded
within the last 50 years were both church related and
located in open, rural areas where expansion should not

be a problem.

The above-mentioned cemeteries raised another question
about inactive and relocated cemeteries. Did the type of
ownership of a cemetery, private, government or religious,
affect cemetery status? Religious-owned cemeteries appeared
to be less likely to change status than either government
or private cemeteries (Table 3). Only 14% (6 of 44) of the
church cemeteries changed from active status; all six became
inactive and not one was relocated. On the other hand,

36% (4 of 11) of the government cemeteries and 37% (13 of
35) of the private cemeteries became either inactive

or relocated. All relocated cemeteries were government
or privately owned. When the type of ownership was
combined with the number of burials within a cemetery,

over one-half (8 of 14) church cemeteries with less than

61

0|

r-IOOO

h

 

mamausm OON
can» mmwa
sues mmagmp
Iofiou m>auo¢

mo quEsz

H

ma

 

mamwubm com
can» mmoa
nufl3
mmfiumumfioo
mo_nonfidz

o

o

 

 

mmflhwflwgmu WOHHQHQEOU mmflHme—HOU
UOHMDOHOM O>HflUMGH MO “"032

om
ml
mm
m
m
m
as

 

mo Hmnfisz mo Honfisz

mamwusm mo “$9852 .mwsmnmc3o humumsmu

msumum mo mmcmno new

m mamfla

mA¢BOB

“any swans .oum>wum
Aumv Hausa .oum>fium
Aswv swans .ucmecum>ou
Ahoy amass .ucoecum>ow
Asmv swans .mDOHmHHOm
Ammv Amman .msoflwfiamm

ONNB

62

200 burials remained active. None of the 17 government
and private cemeteries with less than 200 burials remained
active. Ten of these were inactive and seven had been
relocated.

The church cemetery was the most permanent, viable
type of cemetery in Waukesha County.' The church played a
strong role in providing for its members both during and
after their lives. The peOple buried in these cemeteries
had a common bond: unity of faith. This unity provided
the church cemetery with a strong, enduring basis, resist-
ing status changes.

The bonds that existed between the peOple establishing
government and private cemeteries may have been just as
strong as those of the church, but certainly they were not
as lasting. One of the reasons these ties were not as
strong was because those cemeteries that changed status
contained very few burials and served a very limited popu-
lation. Eleven of the 17 inactive and relocated government
and private cemeteries contained fewer than 45 burials.
Government cemeteries were also subject to the whims of its
officials, and other cemeteries often were more successful
in competing for burials because of spiritual or family ties.
Private family cemeteries fell into disuse when distance or
uninterested descendants severed ties with a cemetery or
another site became more desirable. Not all government and
private cemeteries were affected by such factors and

changed status, but about one out of every three were.

63

Inactive and relocated cemeteries in Waukesha County
were affected by three main factors: the number of burials,
pOpulation density, and the type of ownership. Several of
these factors combined or one dominated to produce a change
of cemetery status. But what were the exact reasons for
each particular cemetery becoming inactive? Relocated?

The causes of inactive cemeteries in Waukesha County
were not always explicit, but could be inferred using the
analysis based on the number of burials, population density,
and ownership. They are presented in Table 4. All inactive
cemeteries contained fewer than 200 burials. Six cemeteries
were abandoned because they were privately owned and were
not maintained as functional burial places. Seven ceme-

teries exhausted their area for use as burial plots.43

 

43Because a cemetery has sold all its burial plots
does not mean it can no longer remain functional. In many
cases, historically, purchasers had acquired more plots
than they needed or used. This resulted in a patchwork of
plot usage, especially in many of the older cemeteries.
More than one—quarter of some cemeteries' plots were not
used because of this problem. Legally, such plots belong
to the purchaser or his heirs and cannot be resold. To
combat this problem and make more efficient use of cemetery
land, some cemetery records keepers have traced the owners
of unused plots. Most of these owners had become establish-
ed in different areas than where the cemeteries containing
their inherited plots were located and did not want to use
them. In such cases, these owners were paid the value of
the plots at the original date of purchase in exchange for
their deed. These plots were then resold to "fill in" the
cemetery. Some owners wanted to use their plots. In other
cases no heir to the plots was located and after a speci-
fied period of time, these were resold. In any case, the
objective was to retain the function of the cemetery as a
burial place and not allow it to become inactive.

Name

 

Wegner or Methodist

St. Joan of Arc

Richmond

German Evangelical

Oak Hill

East Pioneer (a.k.a.
Dixon or Pioneer
Hill)

Zion Evangelical

Waukesha County Home
and Hospital

Saylesville

German Reformed

Sittle (a.k.a. First
German Reformed)

64

TABLE 4

Inactive Cemeteries

Date of
Last
Burials Comments

1910 Abandoned family plot, 10
burials

1963 Old township cemetery, 39
burials, potentially useable
as a paupers field

1945 Abandoned family cemetery,
44 burials

1955 Abandoned church cemetery,
49 burials, circumvented by
four lane highway, tw0'1ane
highway and school playground

1959 Circumvented by a subdivi31on

1944 Circumvented by built-up area

1962 Small cemetery, church relo-
cated, circumvented by
built-up area

1899 Government cemetery, 75 bod-
ies relocated from the old
poor farm in Vernon Township;
this site was never used as
an active cemetery

1920 Abandoned private cemetery,
30 burials

1962 Church relocated, no room
for expansion

1862 Abandoned church cemetery

because newer one establish-
ed less than a mile away,
17 burials

Table 4 (cont'd):

 

Date of
Last
Name Burials
Muckey School 1860's
Durham Hill 1951
Dodges Corners 1919
Oak Grove 1967
St. Theresa's 1941

(Old Cemetery)

65

Comments

Family cemetery, approx. 20
burials, confusion over deed-
ing of cemetery land, new
owner plowed it under

Abandoned family, then town-
ship cemetery, 70 burials

Abandoned private cemetery,
24 burials, larger cemetery
2 miles away

Abandoned church, then town-
ship cemetery, lack of room
for expansion, circumvented
by state forest

Church cemetery, no room for
expansion, another cemetery
now used by the church

66

In four of these cases built-up areas circumvented the
cemeteries and prevented the addition of more land to the
original sites.

There are still some unanswered questions about the
hows and whys of inactive cemeteries. Each cemetery had
its own peculiar set of events, each its own story. But
the dominant characteristics of inactive cemeteries have
been identified.

If was relatively easy for a cemetery to become inact-
ive; it no longer received burials. But is was a much more
complex situation when a cemetery was relocated. Cemeter-
ies were perceived as a permanent form of land use.44 For
various reasons: religious beliefs, reverence for the dead,
custom, fear, and superstition, relocation of a cemetery
presented problems.

45 noted that cemetery relocation involves three

Darden
processes. He identified these processes as: (1) invasion,
competition for land in the area in the vicinity of the
cemetery by other forms of land use; (2) legality, the laws

as they pertain to cemeteries; and (3) succession, the

 

displacement of cemetery land with another form of land.
Of the seven relocated cemeteries in Waukesha County,

six were affected by invasion (Table 5). Only the Waukesha

 

44Planning Advisory Service, Cemeteries in the City
Plan, Information Report No. 16 (Chicago: American Society
of Planning, 1950), p. 4.

 

45Joe T. Darden, "Cemetery Relocation."

67

cowmm>cfl Hafiucochom
coflmm>cw Howucooflmwm

paom Gama pao

.Hmuflmmon paw macs mucsoo
on» no muwm pmumoonH

map on poumooHou mumumfiou
conm>ca HmHucmpHmom
GOHmm>cw awaucmpwmwm

COHWM>GH HMHOHOEEOU

scamm>cw 0H>flu

 

cofiumoonm How commmm

m.ome
ommfllomma

momH

moma
vmma
mmma

coma

 

cowumoonm
mo wumo

can“:

swans

amusm

swans
swans
amusm
Honda

msoom

oum>wnm

mum>wum

HGTECHO>OQ

usmficnm>ou
GOHHMfloommm .wum>HHm
GOAHMHUOmmm .mpm>HHm

maflsmm .mum>flum

OWNB

mmfiumumEou woumooHom

m mamflB

ummm w wmoaaou

mHHH>mHHHmHm

Such Hoom
mucsoo mammxsmz

Hao3owm
oosoEocooo
Houcmu omwxmsz
mxomcmm

NuoumEmO

68

County Poor Farm cemetery was not affected by invasion; it
was relocated because the institution was relocated and the
old prOperty was sold. Three different types of invasion
processes affected the other six cemeteries, residential,
commercial, and civic. Residential invasion affected the
largest number of cemeteries. In four cases residences
surrounded cemetery sites, or were anticipated to surround
them in the near future, precipitating the relocation of
those sites.

One cemetery subjected to residential invasion, also
the first to be relocated in Waukesha County, was Prairie-
ville Cemetery. It was the first cemetery established in
the village of Waukesha (the village of Waukesha is now the
city of Waukesha), located on Wisconsin Avenue somewhere
between Grand Avenue and Broadway Avenue.46 As the village
grew, the people realized they could not allow a small
cemetery to exist in the heart of the built-up area. Some-
time around 1850 this cemetery was relocated to a new site
at the intersection of College and East Avenues. Not
everything must have been removed from the Prairieville
site. Two grave markers were discovered during the con-

struction of a parking lot over this area in 1956.47

 

46
p. 22.
47

Waukesha Freeman, Centennial Edition, 1959, Sec. J,

 

Waukesha Freeman, June 16, 1956.

69

The association members of the Oconomowoc Cemetery
realized in 1864 that their cemetery would not be able to
fulfill the future needs of the community.48 It was already
bordered by built-up or plotted areas on three sides and a
lake on the fourth. A much larger cemetery was established
in a new location outside the plotted area of the city.

The bodies from the old cemetery were relocated to this new
site.

A similar event occurred in the village of Waukesha
at about this same time. Bodies from the old Prairieville
Cemetery had been relocated to a site on the northeast
corner of College and East Avenue.49 This new lcoation was
rapidly developing as a residential area. Carroll College,
established in 1848, was adjacent to this site, and enhanced
the deve10pment in the vicinity. A village cemetery,
Prairie Home, had been established one mile south of
Waukesha. By 1864 this cemetery was relatively large in
area; it covered 8 acres. The pull factor of this new,
large cemetery combined with the push factor of residential
invasion was manifested in the relocation of the College

and East cemetery to Prairie Home in the 1860's.

 

48The History of Waukesha County (Chicago: Western
Historical Company, 1880), p. 709.

 

49Waukesha‘Freeman, Centennial Edition, 1959, Sec. J,
p. 22.

 

70

Residential invasion combined with other factors to
cause the relocation of Bidwell Cemetery. Bidwell Cemetery
was located less than a mile from the center of the village
of Waukesha. As Waukesha grew, the cemetery became sur-
rounded by houses. The Town of Pewaukee, its owner, ceased
to maintain the cemetery since it had become contained
within the village limits of Waukesha. In 1909 the village
board declared the cemetery a public nuisance because its

50 The bodies

neglected "condition was a source of sorrow."
were relocated to Prairie Home Cemetery.

Muskego Center Cemetery fell victim to commercial
invasion. The small cemetery was established in 1881 and
became inactive in 1920. Over a period of years the ceme-
tery became poorly maintained. Later an amusement park was
built in the vicinity and bordered the site on three sides.
In 1955 the cemetery land was sold to the amusement park
owner, the bodies were relocated to Prairie Home Cemetery
in Waukesha, and the former cemetery became part of a
large parking lot.

Civic invasion caused the relocation of Benecke
Cemetery. This family cemetery, containing only 12 bodies,
received its last interment in 1929. Located on a planned

public school site, the bodies were relocated to Prairie

Home Cemetery in 1960 and the school was built.

 

50Waukesha Freeman, December 3, 1909.

 

71

Legality played an important role in the process of
cemetery relocation. The cemetery had been considered a
permanent form of land use and laws were incorporated to
define various elements of cemeteries and their operation.
Chapter 157 of the Wisconsin Statute351 contains 15 sections
of cemetery laws ranging from requirements of ownership and
care to the procedures of public easement in a cemetery.
Wisconsin laws permit cemetery relocation in only one
instance; it allows succession to occur only where ceme-
tereies have been abandoned on lands acquired or which
could have been acquired by the right of eminent domain.

The case of Benecke Cemetery was a clear example of a school
district exercising this statute.

But what about the other six relocated cemeteries?

Waht process of legality was involved in allowing succession
to occur? In several cases the concept of the cemetery as

a public nuisance was legally upheld and permitted cemetery
relocation. This concept was applied in those cases where
the potential for a cemetery to become a public nuisance

was perceived (e.g. a cemetery becoming located in a future
built-up area) or cemeteries existed as a public nuisance
(e.g. abandoned, unmaintained). The Muskego Center Cemetery
and the Bidwell Cemetery followed similar patterns which
lead to relocation. Both came under town ownership through

Wisconsin Statute 157.04 because they were deemed abandoned

 

51Wisconsin State Statutes. 1971.

 

72

or uncared for for a period of five or more years.52 Once
under town ownership, the town board permitted the sale of
these sites for purposes other than use as a cemetery as
long as suitable arrangements were made to reinter the
bodies in an approved manner. This was legally justified
by Wisconsin Statute 157.06 which permits such an occurrence
provided that "...suitable arrangements have been made for
reinterring the bodies in a manner approved by the depart-
ment of health and social services."53

The case of the relocation of Oconomowoc Cemetery
was unique. An act to legalize the acts of the trustees
of the Oconomowoc cemetery association and to vacate the
Oconomowoc cemetery was passed by the Wisconsin legislature
in 1864.54 The stated reason for vacating the Oconomowoc
Cemetery was that "its present use for burial purposes will
soon become a nuisance."5

Legal documentation of the re10cation of Prairieville
and College and East Cemeteries was not found. It could
be assumed that the generally accepted feeling at the time
was to relocate the cemeteries and this was completed

without passing through any legal channels. If the families

 

SZIbid.

SBIbid.

54Supplement to Private and Local Laws, Chapter 164,
March 287 1864.

55

 

Ibid, p.69.

73

of the dead buried within these cemeteries were still living
in the area, and it's a good chance they were since these
cemeteries each existed less than 15 years, they might have
completed the job themselves. In any case, no written legal
document was located to unshroud the process of relocation
of these two sites.

The relocation of the Waukesha County Poor Farm
followed a different line of legality. Minutes of Board
of County Supervisors session state:

"the remains of 75 inmates were removed from

the cemetery of the former poor farm in the

Town of Vernon and reinterredsgn the new

cemetery on the Asylum Farm."
The Board of Supervisors was legally responsible for
the bodies within its cemetery on the institution's
grounds. The poor farm was being relocated. Rather than
leaving the cemetery in the old, remote location and
retaining responsibility to maintain it, the board decided
to relocate the cemetery on its new grounds. This proced-
ure was legal so long as relatives were informed of the
change.

Invasion and legality were important processes affect-
ing cemetery relocation in Waukesha County. Several other
characteristics were typical of relocated cemeteries.
First, urban cemeteries were much more likely to become

relocated than rural cemeteries (see Table 3). Of 11

 

56Minutes of the Board of Supervisors of Waukesha
County -- 60th Annual Session, November, 1905, p. 51.

74

cemeteries established as urban focused, four were relocat-
ed. This contrasted sharply with rural focused cemeteries
where only 3 of 79 were relocated. This higher incidence
of relocation of urban cemeteries was to be expected. The
process of invasion was much more likely to occur in urban
rather than rural areas. In each case an urban cemetery
relocated outward from the built up areas of a city to
reduce the potential for future invasion or to become part
of a large, established cemetery that was unlikely to be
relocated.

Population density also correlated to the number of
relocated cemeteries; the higher the population density the
more likely a cemetery was to become relocated. Cemeteries
located in areas of high population density were more
likely to contact the invasion process than cemeteries
located in low density areas. Four relocated cemeteries
occurred in the highest quartile of township pOpulation
density, two in the second quartile (Figure 17). Only the
Waukesha County Poor Farm Cemetery, having unique circum-
stances, was relocated from a low density area.

Relocated cemeteries contained low numbers of burials.
No relocated cemetery contained more than 150 bodies and
only one had more than 75. The economic perspective of this
fact Was quite apparent; it was much more inexpensive to
reinter a small number of bodies than a large number. Also
there was less likelihood cf encountering Opposition to a

cemetery's relocation and less work in notifying relatives

75

(required by law) if the cemetery contained a low number
of bodies.

Cemeteries tended to relocate to the cemeteries con—
taining a high number of burials (Figure 16). Five of
seven cemeteries were relocated to government cemeteries
containing more than 2,000 burials. One reason for this
was that a cemetery with a large number of burials would
most likely have remained on the landscape. Another reason
is that these larger, government cemeteries could accommo-
date and were willing to receive these relocated cemeteries
2g.mg§§g. Other cemeteries might have had neither the
space nor the desire to do this.

The third hypothesis of this research stated:
pOpulation circumvention was a major factor in causing
inactive cemeteries. An examination of Figure 17 revealed
six of the 16 inactive Cemeteries were located in the most
densely populated quartile of townships and five more in
the second most densely pOpulated quartile. This indicated
at least a slight correlation between population density
and inactive status. But this is a general measure and
not a specific index. In Table 4, only four cemetery sites
indicated population circumvention as a cause for the change
to inactive status. These data did not fully support the
hypothesis; it was rejected.

It was also hypothesized that urban expansion was a
major factor in causing cemetery relocation. Five of seven

relocated cemeteries had been located in urban areas where

76

there had been competition for land in the vicinity of the
cemetery by other forms of land use. This invasion process
was manifested by the relocation of these cemeteries and
the use of the old cemetery land for commercial or
residential purposes (Table 5). Another cemetery, in a
suburban area, was relocated because of civic invasion.
On the basis of these data, this hypothesis was accepted.
Many factors have altered the number and distribution
of the cemeteries of Waukesha County. Twenty—three
cemeteries ceased to fulfill their original function, to
provide a burial place for the dead. Today they are now
inactive or relocated. The interplay of several factors
caused these changes of status. The most common charac-
teristic of inactive, and also relocated cemeteries, was
the number of burials. Every inactive or relocated
cemetery contained fewer than 200 burials, and 75% of all
cemeteries with less than 200 burials became either inactive
or relocated. Table 2 statistically supported this index
of dissimilarity of the number of burials between active
and inactive or relocated cemeteries. Also, the population
density of the surrounding area, and the type of ownership
were reflected in the characteristics of inactive cemeter-
ies. The processes of invasion and legality, in addition
to the factors mentioned above, were involved in the
process leading to cemetery relocation. Some cemeteries
had unique characteristics which affected their status.

All these factors and processes have occurred in the past

77

and continue to affect cemeteries today. In the future
the increasing weight of these should accelerate the

change of cemeteries from active to inactive and relocated

Status .

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS

The cemeteries of Waukesha County reflected distin-
guishable patterns both in their historical deve10pment and
present-day distribution. Various factors, some that were
typical of almost all cemeteries and others that were
unique to individual sites, affected cemetery locations.
The interaction of the physical aspects of the land and the
cultural views of the people produced, and continues to
affect, the characteristics and number of cemetery locations.

Two trends emerge from the analysis of the historical
development of Waukesha County's cemeteries. First, after
an initial flood of cemetery establishments, the pace
slowed to a trickle and then stOpped. Since 1835, when
the white man first settled the area, 90 cemeteries were
established; between 1840 and 1860 alone, 52 cemeteries
originated. It must have seemed that these pioneers were
“dying" to establish their own cemeteries. Cemeteries
continued to be established after 1860, but at a much
slower rate. In 1936 the last cemetery was established.
Second, the number of cemeteries that changed status and
became inactive or relocated increased at an accelerating
rate during recent years. Ten of 23 inactive or relocated
cemeteries in the county's history occurred since 1940.

This was the same time that Waukesha County was experiencing

79

a population boom; its' population increased more than
400 percent! Before 1940 the number of cemeteries and
the population had always increased or remained constant.
But since 1940 the pOpulation of Waukesha County has rapidly
increased, and though the number of cemeteries remained
constant, the number of active cemeteries decreased.
Therefore, the hypothesis stating that as the population
increased the number of cemeteries decreased was rejected.

Initially, cemeteries were privately owned, most by
families. As settlements became established, the church
assumed the leading position of cemetery ownership. A
small number of government cemeteries were also established.
Church owned cemeteries remain today as the most numerous
type. But in the 1900's the large, private corporation
type, using the cemetery as a business venture, emerged
as the most important.

It was determined that cemetery sites reflected
common locational characteristics. The physical setting
of the cemeteries was typically in an area of well drained
soils. Of all the cemeteries, 93 percent were located on
moderately well or well drained soils. Relatively high
elevation and moderate slope, factors associated with
well drained soils, were two other physical characteristics
that were typical of cemetery sites. The majority of the
cemeteries were located on a hilltop or a hillside and
had a gentle or moderate slope. Accessibility, the nearness

to a transportation route, and proximity, the nearness to

80

the user pOpulation, were two cultural factors that were
reflected in the locational pattern of cemeteries. All
but four cemeteries (96 percent) were considered to be
accessible and 82 percent were in proximity to their
potential user. On the basis of the analysis of these
data, the objective to determine the common locational
characteristics was achieved and the hypothesis stating
that cemeteries were located in areas of well drained
soils on accessible transportation routes and in proximity
to their potential users was accepted.

Cemeteries were conceived as an undying, permanent
form of land use. Not a single cemetery ever included in
this study was established as a temporary site. Yet,
through the years 23 cemeteries changed from active
status and became inactive and/or relocated.

Several factors were characteristic of inactive and
relocated cemeteries. First, the lower the number of
burials within a cemetery the more likely a cemetery was
to become inactive or relocated. All 23 cemeteries that
changed status contained fewer then 200 burials. Relocated
cemeteries tended to be the smallest, probably due to the
cost of reinterring the bodies. Six of seven contained I
less than 76 burials.

Second, government and private cemeteries were much
more likely to become inactive or relocated than religious
cemeteries. Although religious owned cemeteries consti-

tuted the greatest number of cemeteries, the percentage

81

of these cemeteries that changed status was less then half
of that of the government and private cemeteries. No
religious owned cemetery became relocated. All 17 govern-
ment and private cemeteries that contained fewer than 200
burials became inactive or relocated; only 14 of 22
religious owned cemeteries followed suit.

The number of cemeteries that changed status varied
between the townships of highest and lowest population
desnities. It was generally concluded that the higher the
pOpulation density the larger the number of inactive or
relocated cemeteries. Areas of high population density
adversely affected cemetery locations in two ways; it
impeded the expansion of old cemeteries and deterred the
establishment of new cemeteries.

In addition to the above three general characteristics,
other factors influenced cemetery status change. Of the
16 inactive cemeteries, seven exhausted their area for use
as burial plots. Population CircumVention prevented the
addition of more land in four of these cases and caused
the cemetery to become inactive. Another six cemeteries
that became inactive were privately owned and were abandoned
by their small potential uSer pOpulation. In some instances
families and corporations failed to maintain the sites while
in others different, larger cemeteries provided a more
attractive final resting place. On the basis of these data
and analyses, population circumvention was discounted as a

major factor causing cemeteries to become inactive; the

82

third hypothesis of this research was therefore rejected.
More important were the number of burials within a cemetery,
ownership, and the population density of the township in
which it was located.

Invasion was a key process involved in cemetery
relocation. Of the seven relocated cemeteries, six were
affected by thichompetition for land in the vicinity of
the cemetery sites. Residential invasion keyed the reloca-
tion process of four cemeteries removed from the landscape
before 1910. These cemeteries were initially located
near the center of urban areas, and were "caught up" in
urban expansion in the early growth period of their
respective cities. Commercial and civic invasion, increas-
ing rapidly with the urban expansion of some areas, each
affected the relocation of one cemetery, both of these
within the last 25 years.

Legality was an important part in the process of
cemetery relocation. Once land became used as a cemetery
site it was very resistant to change, based on emotional,
religious, and legal views. Laws had been incorporated
that prevented succession, the replacement of cemetery
land with another form of land use, except in certain cases.
In five of seven relocated cemeteries, legal decisions were
made to allow succession.

The final hypothesis of this research was accepted.

On the basis of the analysis of the data concerning reloc-

ated cemeteries, urban expansion was revealed to be a major

83

factor. In fact, this was a major distinguishing factor
between the two types of status change of Waukesha County's
cemeteries. Inactive cemeteries tended to locate in areas
of suburban or rural developments while relocated cemeter-
ies were in urban, high density areas. It was cost
efficient to relocate the cemeteries from urban areas,
especially those affected by civic and commercial invasion.
Today, it would not be cost efficient to relocate cemeteries
unless such high density land use deve10ps around it.
Inactive cemeteries most likely will not be relocated unless
these changes occur. However, the number of inactive
cemeteries should continue to increase as more cemeteries
become relictly situated in areas of high population
densities and their grounds no longer contain unused burial
plots.

Several problems occurred during the course of this
research. First, it was difficult to determine the exact
date of establishment of some cemeteries. Generally, the
date of the earliest death date on the grave markers was
used. But this was not always accurate. In one case the
body of a relative who died in New York in 1812 was carried
to a cemetery site in the study area. It was impossible to
determine the year of death on some old grave markers.
Another problem was the number of interments within a
cemetery. Unless ancillary information was available, the
number of interments corresponded to the number of individ-

uals listed on the grave markers. But not all graves had

84

associated markers. A third problem was that of determining
ownership. Some cemeteries had no determinable ownership
group at the time of its establishment, but over a period
of time an association was formed, governmental groups
assumed the care, or churches used the site. The most
serious problem encountered in this study was sketchy or
non-existent cemetery records. Some cemetery records were
amazingly thorough in their historical documentation;
others had been lost, destroyed, or were incomplete. It
seemed that some of the peOple who established cemeteries
didn't care much for record keeping.

Further studies of necrogeography are suggested by
this study. Certainly cemetery management peOple, in
analyzing areas for the establishment of new cemeteries,
would want to consider the locational characteristics of
the cemeteries in Waukesha County and use them as a basis.
It would be interesting to form a model, based on several
area studies such as this, to determine the population
density at which the number of active cemeteries begins
to decline, rather than increase. 'Another model might be
developed to determine a tipping point of population density,
urban expansion or land values that causes cemeteries to
become inactive or relocated. The deve10pment of the
cemeteries of this study area, being a rapidly growing
suburban county, probably differs greatly from that of

rural or urban areas. Does the development of cemeteries

85

differ between urban and rural areas? If so, in what ways
and degrees?

The cemeteries of Waukesha have had both unique and
common characteristics. Their numbers grew rapidly in the
middle 1800's. But no new cemetery has been established
since 1936, and the number of active cemeteries actually
decreased since then. Cemetery sites revealed common
locational advantages: Well drained soils, accessibility
and proximity to their potential users. Recently, the
number of cemeteries changing from active to inactive or
relocated status has rapidly increased. The major factor
reflected by inactive and relocated cemeteries was the
number of burials within the cemetery. Small cemeteries
were least likely to be able to compete for land in ex-
panding urban and suburban areas. Increasing population
densities and the ownership of the cemetery also affect
these changes of status.

The number and status of cemeteries in Waukesha County
reflect the growth and change in the population and its
sprawl out onto the landscape. The small cemetery which
was once a ubiquitous feature on the landscape is slowly
disappearing. Perhaps in the future, only large expansive
areas or high-rises will be used for burial places; or
maybe the cemetery will disappear completely, leaving only a

trail of ashes and dust.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books and Theses

American Society of Planning Officials. Cemeteries in the
City Plan. Planning Advisory Report Number 16, July,
1950.

 

 

Atlas and Plat Book of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Rockford,
Illinois: The Thrift Press, 1930.

Atlas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin:
Harrison and Warner, 1873.

Bernard, Hugh Y. The Law of Death: and Disposal of the
Dead. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications,
Inc., 1966.

The Cemetery Handbook. Madison, Wisconsin: Park & Cemetery
Publishing Company.

 

Conrad, Howard Louis, ed. 'History of Milwaukee County,
Vol. II. Chicago: American Biographical Publishing
Co., 1895.

Curl, James Stevens. The VictOrian Celebration of Death.
London: David and Charles Limited, 1972.

 

Drewes, Donald W. Cemetery Land Planning. Pittsburgh:
Matthews Memorial Bronze, 1964.

 

Forbes, H.‘ Gravestones of Early New England and the Men
Who Made Them: 1653-1800. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1927.

 

Haight, Theron W., ed. Memoirs of Waukesha County,
Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical
Association, 1907.

 

 

Heckel, David E. Necrogeography:ng Geographic Analysis of
the Cemeteries of Coles CountyL_Illinois. M.A. Thesis,
Eastern Illin6is University, 1972.

The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Chicago:
Western Historical Company, 1880.

Mead, Howard; Dean, Jill; and Smith, Susan. Portrait of
the Past. Madison: Wisconsin Tales & Trails, Inc., 1971.

 

Mitford, Jessica. The American Way of Death. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1963.

 

87

Books and Theses (continued)

 

Plat Book of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Milwaukee:
Marathon Map Service, 1949.

 

Plat Book of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Minneapolis:
C.M. Foster & Co., 1891.

 

Plats and Land Grants, Waukesha County. 1859.

 

Puckle, Bertram. Funeral Customs: Their Origin'and
Development.’ London: T. Werner Laurie Ltd., 1926;
reissued by Detroit, Michigan: Singing Tree Press, 1968.

 

 

Standard Atlas of Waukesha County,-Wisconsin. Chicago:
Geo. A. Ogle & Co., 1914.

 

 

United States Department of Agriculture. Soil Survey of
Milwaukee‘and Waukesha Counties, July 1971.

 

 

Warner, William. The Living and the Dead. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1959.

 

Williams, Daniel Jenkins. The Welsh Community of Waukesha
County. Columbus, Ohio: Press of the Hann & Adair Ptg.
Co., 1926.

 

Articles and Periodicals

 

Adams, R. "Markers Cut by Hand." The American West,
Vol. 4 (1967), pp. 59-64.

American Cemetery. 1929. Monthly.

 

American City. 1938. Monthly.

 

The Cemeterian-bulletin of the American Cemetery Association.
1957. Monthly.

 

Concept: The Journal of Creative Ideas for Cemeteries.
Published by the Interment AssoEiation of America.

 

Darden, Joe T. “Factors in the Location of Pittsburgh's
Cemeteries." The Virginia Geographer, Vol. 7 (1972),
No. 2, pp. 3-8.

 

Darden, Joe T. "The Processes of CemeternyelocatiOn,"
an unpublished paper.

 

88

Articles and Periodicals (continued)

Deetz, James and Dethlefsen, Edwin. "Death Heads, Cherubs,
and Willow Trees: Experimental Archaeology in Colonial
Cemeteries." American Antiquity, Vol. 31 (1966),
pp. 502-510.

 

. "Death's Head, Cherub, Urn and Willow."
Natural History, (March, 1967), pp. 29-37.

 

 

Francaviglia, Richard V. "The Cemetery as an Evolving
Cultural Landscape." Association of American Geographers,
Annals, Vol. 61 (1971), pp. 501-509.

Hahn, H. "Evolution in the Graveyard." Midwest‘Quarterly,

 

Hardwick, W.G., Claus, R.J., and Rothwell, D.C. "Cemeteries
and Urban Land Value.“ The Professional Geographer,
Vol. 23 (1971). PP. 19-21.

 

Haseltine, M. ”A Progress Report on the Pictoral Document-
ation of Early Utah Gravestones (Abstract)." Forms Upon
the Frontier: Folklife and Folk Art in the United States,
Utah State University Monograph Series, Vol. 16 (1969),
pp. 70-88.

 

 

Jackson, J.B. "The Vanishing Epitaph: From Monument to
Place." Landsctpe, Vol. 17 (1967), pp. 22-26.

 

Jean, Donald G. "The Traditional Upland South Cemetery."
Landscape, Vol. 18 (1969), pp. 39-41.

Kephart, William, M. “Status After Death." American
Sociological Review, Vol. 15 (1950), pp. 642-643.

 

Kniffen, Fred. "Necrogeography in the United States."
Geographical Review, Vol. 57 (1967), pp. 426-427.

 

Lindley, Kenneth. "Stones and Long Grass: The Churchyard
as Landscape." Architectural Review, (June, 1966),
pp. 462-466.

 

McGuire, Tom. "New England Tombstone Rubbings." ‘School
Arts, V0. 65 (June, 1965), p. 21.

Newman, John J. "Cemetery Transcribing: Preparations and
Procedures,: American Association for State and Local
History, Technical Leaflet Number 9,‘History'NeWS, Vol.
26, No. 5, May, 1971.

 

89

Articles and Periodicals (continued)

 

Pattison, William D. "The Cemeteries of Chicago: A Phase
of Land Utilization." Association of American Geographers,
Annals, Vol. 45 (1955), pp. 245-257.

Perret, Maurice E. "Cemeteries: A Source of Geographic
Information." Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of
Sciences, Arts and Letters, Vol. 63 (1975), pp. 139-161.

. "Tombstones and Epitaphs: Journeying
Through Wisconsin's Cemeteries." The Wi3consin Academy
Review, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Spring, 1975).

 

 

Price, Larry. "Some Results and Implications of a Cemetery
Study." The Professional Geographer, Vol. 18 (1966),
pp. 201-207.

 

Southern Cemetery. 1958. Bi-monthly.

Tarpley, F. "Southern Cemeteries: Neglected Archives for
the Folklorist." Southern Folklore Quarterly, Vol. 27
(1963): PP. 323-333.

 

Young, Frank. "Graveyards and Social Structure." ‘Rural
Sociology, Vol. 25 (1960, pp. 446-450.

 

Newspaper Articles

 

Lake Country Reporter. December 13, 1973.

 

New Berlin Citizen. May 26, 1966.

 

. September 25, 1969.

 

Oconomowoc Entetprise. December 16, 1971.

 

Waukesha Freeman. November 9, 1909.

 

. December 3, 1909.

 

. December 3, 1949.

 

. August 26, 1955.

 

. June 16, 1956.

 

. Centennial Edition, 13 Weekly Supplements
to the Freeman, March 28 to June 20, 1959.

 

. March 20, 1971.

 

90

Newspaper Articles (continued)

 

Waukesha Freeman. July 27, 1972.

 

. November 30, 1972.

 

Other Sources

 

Board of Supervisors of Waukesha County, Minutes -- 60th
Annual Session, November 1905, p. 51.

"Cemeteries in Waukesha County and Location by Townships."
A list compiled by the Waukesha County Historical
Society, 1970.

"Forgotten Cemetery of the Past Near the Muckey School at
Muskego." A paper in the files of the Waukesha County
Historical Society.

Leasher, Evelyn M., and Milward, Robert E. 'Cemeteries and
Urban Land Use:’ A Preliminary Bibliography. Exchange
Bibliography No. 248. Monticello, Illinois: Council of
Planning Libraries, 1971.

 

 

Personal correspondence from Mr. Henry E. Rosenow to Mrs.
Edith Tallmadge, Secretary of the Waukesha County
Historical Society, July 2, 1939.

Personal correspondence from George Basting, Secretary
Treasurer of Oak Hill Cemetery Association, to Mrs. Grace
Kieckhefer, June 1, 1971.

Proctor, William. Location, Regulation and Removal of
Cemeteries in the City and County of San Francisco.
American Society of Planning Officials reprint, 1951.

 

Record of the Common Council, Vol. 4, City of Waukesha,
October 5, 1909.

, November 2, 1909.

 

Wisconsin. State Lawg, 1848.

 

 

. 1849.
. 1858.
. 1864.

 

Wisconsin. ‘State Statutes. 1971.

 

APPENDIX A

CEMETERY FACT SHEET

Cemetery name

 

 

 

 

Location

Number of Burials Earliest Latest
Active Inactive Relocated

Rural Focus Urban Focus

Ownership

 

Ethnic Control Group (if any)

 

(From Waukesha County Soil Survey)

Soil Type

 

Slope

 

Drainage Characteristics

 

Natural Vegetation

 

Elevation

 

Acreage

 

Distance to Nearest Transportation Route at Time of Origin

Accessibility Yes No

 

Distance to Potential User or User Focus

 

Proximity Yes No

Cost of Land

 

Other Comments:

 

 

Waukesha County.

APPENDIX B

List and Map of Waukesha County Cemeteries

The following is a list of cemeteries located in

The number of the cemetery corresponds to

the number on the map in Figure 18.

 

 

Date
Name Established

Wagner or 1867
Methodist
Monterrey 1846
St. Catherine 1848
St. Joan of Arc 1846
St. Joan of Arc 1930
Oconomowoc 1851
La Belle 1863
St. John Lutheran 1854
Stonebank 1847
Holy Innocents 1844
St. Peter 1853
St. Clare 1936
St. John U.C.C. 1880
Bark River 1837
Merton-Lisbon Union 1842
Lisbon Central 1846
Richmond 1847
German Evangelical 1892

Comment 8

Small, unkept cemetery in
the middle of a field

Old township poor farm
cemetery, co-located with
No. 5

New Church owned cemetery
co-located with No. 4

Relocated in 1864

93

 

 

CEMETERIES OF WAUKESHA COUNTY

    
 

Monterey

     

Sussex

Pewaukee

    
   

/'—'—\L—‘

 
     
  
  

      

 

  

/ N Prairie
/ 61 V i I'Va‘
,-\ .._, , ‘ r" l
j 11,. l Ff? 871/”, I
7.2; \ ‘ In;r’/"I :
// \\\ ‘ >/ ’4? Muskego fl;
) ,- .88 Il _ l I
I' ‘ ~. i . ,/ , ' ; I a" I? j
_‘ —_ _ ‘x,_ l *V‘ x ,1 B4 \ Blg Bend / V...”I'0L’
"—--- — _.+_-.___,j o, , ,
74. E0916 ; .76 ”.?8/, 85 “I ’ ' J i
\ .75 ”‘I ' m ,1 [I h
.1” -~\ . I r
F’ ,/ ‘ a L ‘I . .
>A/ - ._ — _ J a I
)N’ I 1\
CEMETERIES 7 t
\ v
e ACTIVE “\.\ W'SC ,
I

I IMACTIVE [l
... I |_
O RE LOCATED _1

County baunCorIes
TOwnship boundaries

 

— Roads
’ : ' " 3
v 85

on 2.7.

 

FIGURE 18

 

APPENDIX B (cont.):

Name

 

19. St. Alban
20. Rose Hill
21. Union or Nelson
22. St. James
23. Sunnyside
24. Emmanuel
25. St. Paul
26. St. Mary
27. St. Anthony
28. At. Jerome
29. Summit

30. Nashotah Mission

31. St. John Chrysostrom

32. Delafield Village
33. Tabernacle

34. St. Charles

35. Hartland Village

36. Hartland Lutheran

37. St. Mary
38. Forest Hill
39. St. Peter and Paul

40. Pilgrims Rest

94

Date
Established

 

1838
1837
1846
1847
1849
1850
1868
1906
1867
1867
1836
1841
1853
1850
1849
1910

1845

1923

1848
1837
1858

1845

Comments

Co-located with No. 35
and No. 36

Co-located with No. 34
and No. 36

Co-located with No. 34
and No. 35

95

APPENDIX B (cont.):

 

 

Date
Name Established Comments
41. Waukesha County 1905
Home & Hospital
(old Poor Farm)
42. Bidwell 1842 Relocated in 1909»
43. St. Dominic 1846
44. Trinity 1869
45. German Evangelical 1962 Unkept cemetery on hill-
side south of the
elementary school
46. Oak Hill 1847
47. Wisconsin Memorial 1929 Largest in terms of area
Park and number of burials

48. East Pioneer (a.k.a. 1840
Dixon, Pioneer Hill)

49. Mt. Zion 1900

50. Benecke 1851 Relocated, some grave
stones remain in woods
north of the school

51. Zion Evangelical 1853

52. St. Mary 1874

53. Visitation 1879

54. St. Bruno 1847

55. Ottawa 1844

56. Salem 1842

57. Jerusalem 1844

58. St. Paul 1861

59. Genesee Village 1843

60. Saylesville 1854 Overgrown with weeds and

brush

96

APPENDIX B (cont.):

 

 

Date
Name ‘Established Comments
61. North Prairie 1838

62. Prairieville before 1840 Relocated by 1860

63. College and East between 1840 Relocated in 1860's

and 1860
64. Prairie Home 1849
65. St. Joseph 1846
66. Highland Memorial 1929
Park
67. German Reformed 1850
68. Holy Apostles 1856
69. Sittle (a.k.a. First 1846 Located in small woods
German Reformed) on crest of hill
70. New Berlin Center 1841
71. Sunnyside 1841
72. Melendy's Prairie 1848
73. St. Theresa 1844
74. Oak Ridge 1864
75. Oak Knoll 1853
76. Jericho 1838
77. Oak Grove 1844
78. Oak Knoll 1837
79. Waukesha County 1881 Relocated to No. 41,
Poor Farm Waukesha County Home
and Hospital in 1905
80. United Presbyterian 1855
81. Reformed Presbyter- 1845

1am

97

APPENDIX B (cont.):

 

 

Date
Name Established ‘Comments
82. Vernon Center 1842

83. Evangelical Lutheran 1892

84. Big Bend Rural Home 1840

85. Dodge's Corners 1840 In the woods on a hill
86. St. Paul 1860
87. Muskego Center 1881 Relocated in 1955
(a.k.a. Muskego
Village)
88. Muckey School 1852
89. Durham Hill 1847
90. Bethlehem Lutheran 1907
Evangelical

Locations with less than five burials, not indicated in
Figure 18.

Brookfield Township - section 25, Elm Grove Road and
Bluemond Road, on Allen Furlan residence, 1 body in a
vacant lot.

Eagle Township - section 13 on County Trunk NNN. According
to the Waukesha County Historical Society records
there were 4 readable stones.

Genesee Township - section 4, on west side of the intersec-
tion of County Trunk G and County Trunk GD. It was
owned by Bethlehem Lutheran Church, contained only
2 burials.

Merton Township - section 18, on the west side of County
Trunk C south of the railroad tracks on the Gary
Tetzlaff farm. A cement wall surrounds 3 or 4 graves.

Mukwonago Township - southwest 1/4 of section 4 on the old
Richard Johnson farm. There were four burials here
between 1847 and 1857.

Oconomowoc Township - section 16 off Sonday Road on the
Sonday family farm. The first and only burial occurred
in 1971.

‘lllllllllllllllll“