Oak Hill...The Freeway Onramp Cemetery - Wauwatosa, WI

Oak Hill (off Capitol Dr.)

It’s been an unusually hot and humid summer - especially for Milwaukee Wisconsin. Don’t get me wrong…I like the warmth much better than the cold. However, human nature is to complain regardless of the weather. I guess the reason I notice it (and mention it) is my current self-imposed living arrangement. You see, I left my wife of nearly 26 years; the love having all but evaporated like one of those cone-shaped room air fresheners that you have to open up to expose the soft inner core - and moved into an upper half of a house with zero AC. Since the place I’m renting didn’t come with it, and I would have to pay for it…I’m suddenly uber-frugal with my meager stipend. I can also unequivocally attest to you dear reader that heat does indeed rise…I have the sweat-stained tee shirts to prove it. I guess that’s one reason I totally enjoy getting out in the deep woods…the coolness of natural shade.

No there's really no giant Red Arrow in the sky

Even at 8:30 AM on this particular Sunday; the Cicadas were buzzing with gusto as I parked the White Pickup Truck under the westbound bridge of Milwaukee’s Capitol Drive. Why not park the vehicle in the shade I thought, as I gathered up my binoculars, tripod and camera. I knew I’d be away from it for a time and didn’t need to come back to an Easy Bake Oven interior. My goal for today was two-fold; investigate the crumbling and forlorn cemetery plots directly adjacent to the Capitol Drive highway 45 North freeway onramp, and to walk the trails that lead away into the woods near the graveyard ruins.

The only convenient access, was to park where I did and walk a short distance - so walk I did.  Note: The focus of THIS particular blog installment will be the cemetery, if you want the “trail” segment (because it is more birdy in nature)…look HERE within the (wildly popular) Birdstud Blog.

I must have driven past the markers over 100 times in the 22 years living in Milwaukee. Each and every time in the past 3 years however, I vowed to find a way to investigate them more fully. I’d pull up to the stop sign glance to my right, spot the curious cemetery plots so out of place, and continue turning right onto the freeway ramp thinking: I need to check that out someday. Well today was someday and now I was approaching the oddity from the east on foot along the busy roadway. My first impression was that someone, somewhere, somehow must have been making a miniscule effort to maintain the property, as I could see a chain across two posts with Lannon stone curved retaining walls that somehow indicated an entrance. The grass near this opening was lower as if the highway department might have been recently through with its massive mower deck whirring and chopping away. A tall flag pole with flag adorned the left side near what appeared to be military style grave markers.

I observed two signs at the front of the cemetery. One white plywood sign, hand painted with black letters that read,” Oak Hill Cemetery – 1853 – This acre was purchased from Mr. Clarke Brookins by the Oak Hill Burying Ground Association. Burials began in 1839. Civil War Vets Johann Bahler and Dr. Levi Halstead are buried here with other Wauwatosa pioneers.” And another newer more “county-looking” routered one that read simply, “Oak Hill Cemetery – Est’d 1854 Wauwatosa” that was no doubt brief in nature so that moving cars had a chance to know just what this unique area harbored. So hmmm…technically the(suburb) City of Wauwatosa land eh?

I don’t know if you are a history buff or a person who likes antiques – a cemetery enthusiast or are merely curious about “old stuff” like I am, however I found this place compellingly interesting and quietly stimulating. Sure, I could visit, walk around swatting the mosquitoes that hung to the tall unkempt grass, looking at what was left of the markers, but to really know what this place was all about…research would be necessary. I just love that part.


The Milwaukee County Online Genealogy and Family History Library states that from an article published in the Wauwatosa News Times June 25, 1887: "Oak Hill became a burial ground in 1853 after Clark Brookins sold one of his 150(?) acres of land to the newly formed Oak Hill Burying Association. He charged $20 for the parcel and plots were sold for $1 each. The oldest grave belongs to Julia Knapp, who died in 1848. Although the area officially became a cemetery in 1853, farmers buried relatives there before that, which was the reason Brookins sold off the property." The cemetery records were destroyed in a fire in 1912. “The tiny, 1 acre glade, provinces the resting place to the gentleman farmers of early Wauwatosa." There farmers were mostly German immigrants.


The transcriptions below are from a book by Elizabeth Dohrety Herzfeld. I personally have highlighted the few of the 83 family names that I photographed, however the entire “roster” is located HERE.  Just an FYI for any of you who wish to be remembered longer than others; buy that reddish granite looking headstone - they seem endure and remain far more legible than your run-of-the-mill stone marker…think about it.

Key - OSSW = ON THE SAME STONE

Halstead / Bahler

BAHLER:


Johann/b. 1843/d. 1880/Pvt Co. 1 17 Wis Inf US on star marker/NEXT TO:


Johann/b. 1813 (??)/d. 1880/probably wrong birth date

Beggs

BEGGS:


Daniel/b. 1856/d. 1820/father/OSSW:


Emma/b. 1858/d. 1928/mother

Bell

BELL:


Francis/b. 18 Nov 1816 Co. Tyrone, Ireland/d. 5 May 1911/seems to be 7 stones


in Plot/Mary Ann, Frank, Charles/3 mothers/1 father

Glass

GLASS:


Lizzie/b. 1858/d. 1939/OSSW:


Luther/b. 1865/d. 1846

Gruenwald

GRUENWALD:


Charles/b. 20 Oct 1811/d. 2 Jun 1860/dates could be wrong


Henrietta/b. 1836/d. 1923/Mother/NEXT TO:


Wm./b. 1836/d. 1919

Halstead's Little Red Store

HALSTEAD:


Dr. L. C. (Levi)/b. 1817/d. 12 Dec 1902/Surgeon 7 Wis Vol Batry Lt. Arty/age 84


years 8 months/US on star marker/NEXT TO: (HALSTED)


The oldest commercial building in Wauwatosa, WI -The Little Red Store - 7720 Harwood Ave was built in 1854 by Dr. Levi Halsted Wauwatosa’s 2nd physician in 1848, in the center of the village at the intersection of the Plank Road, the Menomonee River and the railroad. It was originally intended to be a blacksmith shop but instead became the private dwelling for Dr. Halsted. Since then, the Little Red Store has served many purposes. It was the first railroad depot in Wauwatosa and is the oldest post office building in Milwaukee County still standing. It has also served as a general store, grocery store, harness shop, plumbing shop, library and Republican Party headquarters. It served as the community’s first railroad depot and express office, and it remains the oldest standing post office building in Milwaukee County. The Little Red Store was designated a city landmark by the Wauwatosa Landmark Commission in 1978 and a historic structure under the city’s historic preservation ordinance in 1998. The property is designated for its historic significance in 2008

Klinger

KLINGER:


Annie/b. 1862/d. 7 Jun 1894


Dorethe (GLASEN)/b. 11 Feb 1827/d. 1 Aug 1886/OSSW:


Ida/b. 19 Apt 1863/d. 25 Mae 1883/OSSW:


Justus/b. Jun? 1815?/d. 9 Dez 1865/hard to read


Frank/b. 1848/d. 1913/NEXT TO:


Louisa E./b. 1862/d. 1932

Klug

KLUG:


Carl/b. 24 Apr 1856/d. 16 Dec. 1940/father/OSSW:


Louise/b. 13 Jun 1863/d. 19 Jan 1931/mother

Knapp - Oldest Grave

KNAPP:


Emmily OLDS/b. 31 Mae 1807/d. 1878/wife of G. F./NEXT TO:


George F./b. 15 Jun 1804/d. 20 May 1873


Julia A./b. 9 Sept 1807/d. 29 Jun 1848/wife of Geo. F.

Kroeming

KROEMING:


Henry/b. 6 Feb 1880/d. 14 Dec 1917/NEXT TO:


Gustav/b. 20 Oct 1834/d. 28 Sep 1909/NEXT TO:


Fredericka/b. 14 Sep 1839/d. 8 Nov 1922/Ruhe Sanft/OSSW:


August/b. 19 Sep. 1866/d. 9 Mar 1903/Ruhe Sanft/NEXT TO:


Norma/b. 20 Nov 1907/d. 7 May 1908

Laib

LAIB:


Maria B./b. 13 Mar 1832/d. 4 Jul 1916/mother

Last (but not Least)

LAST:


Emma/b 1881/d. 1944/Wife/OSSW:


Frank/b. 1882/d. 19__/Husband

Osten

OSTEN:


Gustav/b. 23 Aug 1854/d. 17 Sep 1909/Ruhe Sanft/NEXT TO:


Max O/b. 1880/d 1913/Ruhe Sanft

Schultz - (Patched at some point)

SCHULTZ:


???Hann/b. 9 Jun 1876/d. 24 Oct 1889/OSSW:


Wilhelmine/b. 2 Jul 1842/d. 5 Jan 1915/Mutter/OSSW:


Gustav/b. 2 Sep 1891/d. 2 Oct 1891/OSSW:


Bertha/b. 28 Apr 1879/d. 10 Nov 1899/OSSW:


Charles/b. 24 Mar 1842/d. 11 Feb. 1914/Vater

Schumacher

SCHUMACHER:


Carl/b. 24 Nov 1859/d. 23 Nov 1901/NEXT TO:


Friedericka/b. 1832/d. 1915/Mother/other stones in Plot Broken

Wetzel

WETZEL:


Heinrich/b. 16 Sep 1820/d. 14 Mai 1900/Ruhe Sanft/OSSW:


Louise (MOOHOLD)/b. 12 Apr 1832/d. 6 Apr 1889

Wolfgram

WOLFGRAM:


Carl/b. 11 Jan 1838/d. 30 Oct 1922/NEXT TO:


Wilhelmine/b. 1 Mar 1841/d. 10 Jan 1913

Oak Hill Cemetery Entrance

From: Milwaukee Journal July 26, 1931 Newspaper article

Old Cemetery is Picturesque


Quaint Sculpture Is Seen on Site Recently Center of Dispute


For many years, probably no American flags and no flowers have been placed at the head of the grave of Dr. L.C. Halsted, surgeon in the 7th Wisconsin Volunteer battery, Civil War, who was buried in Oak Hill cemetery in December, 1902. Dr. Halstead's grave is one of many at the old cemetery on Capitol drive, west of Highway 100, the markers of which are covered with tall grass or knocked to the ground. It is one of many graves half hidden by overhanging trees and bushes.


Oak Hill cemetery, one of the picturesque spots of Milwaukee county, recently was the center of controversy over the building of a two-lane superhighway on Capitol drive. The county planned to cut through the cemetery, but, because of pleas of relatives of persons buried there, it was decided the road should be widened without molesting the old grounds.


STONES 90 YEAR OLD - Many of the stones in the cemetery are more than 90 years old. One headstone, so weatherbeaten that the name can hardly be read, is that of Edwin D. Pierce, who died Apr. 4, 1839(sic), at the age of 17. Other stones mark the graves of persons who died only a few years ago.


Quaint sculptural designs mark many of the cemetery monuments. Several stones are fashioned with pairs of clasped hands reaching upward, or with the index finger of a hand pointing upward. Other markers indicate in verse that the person buried in the cemetery "has passed heavenward." And about a few graves are small glass enclosed boxes which hold faded and withered wreaths in their original form.


LIVED NEXT TO CEMETERY - One of the persons buried in Oak cemetery once lived in the old farm immediately to the west. The home was torn down and the farm deserted many years ago. The cemetery is on the crest of a hill directly opposite the northwest corner of James Currie Park. A steep incline on the driveway into the grounds leads through a gate which long ago fell from its hinges. Along the borders of the cemetery a ravine extends to the north. A row of stakes running east and west through the cemetery several feet north of the entrance shows the point to which the county had at first plan to cut into the grounds in widening Capitol drive.
 
So, the next time you are in the neighborhood, or are about to enter north on the Hwy 45-894 freeway at Capitol drive...look right and think about old Wauwatosa pioneers.
 
Roads Less Traveled make ALL the difference!