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Forest Home Cemetery Soldiers' Lot
Forest Home Cemetery
2405 West Forest Home Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53215
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Office Hours:
See General Information
Visitation Hours:
Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
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Burial Space:This soldiers’ lot is closed to interments.
Acreage: 0.1
Floral/Ground Regulations
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Directions from nearest airport:
From Wood National Cemetery take National Avenue East to Highway 41 (43rd Street). Turn right on Highway 41. Go South to Forest Home Avenue. Turn left and go East on Forest Home Avenue to 24th Street. Cemetery is on the right.
From Mitchell International Airport (6.9 miles from the cemetery): From the airport take Wisconsin-119 West. Take Interstate 94 South/Interstate 894-ByPass. Take exit 136. Merge onto Interstate 43 South/Interstate 894 West. Take the 27th Street/Wisconsin-241 North exit #9B. Turn right on South 27th Street. Bear right on West Forest Home Avenue. Total distance is 6.9 miles.
From the North: Take Interstate 43 South/Interstate-94 East for 1.3 miles. Take the Becher Street/Lincoln Avenue exit, exit #312B for 0.2 miles. Continue on South 5th Street, and then turn right on W. Lincoln Avenue. Turn left on West Forest Home Avenue. Cemetery is on the right.
From the South: Take Interstate 43 South/Interstate-894 West for 0.3 miles. Take the 27th Street/Wisconsin-241 North exit, exit #9B. Turn right on South 27th Street. Turn right on West Forest Home Avenue. Cemetery is on the left.
From the East: Take Wisconsin-794 North and continue on Lake Parkway. Turn right towards Oklahoma Avenue then turn left on East Oklahoma Avenue. Turn right on South Chase Avenue, then turn left on West Lincoln Avenue. Turn left on West Forest Home Avenue. Cemetery is on the right.
From the West: Take the Oklahoma Avenue exit, exit #2B. Turn left on West Oklahoma Avenue then go left on West Forest Home Avenue. Cemetery is on the right. |
GENERAL INFORMATION
The private and community cemeteries that contain NCA soldiers’ and government lots, and Confederate cemeteries, do not always have staffed offices on site. When administrative information for the larger cemetery is available, it is provided below.
Forest Home Cemetery
Phone: (414) 645-2632
Fax: (414) 645-2637
Website: http://www.foresthomecemetery.com
This soldiers’ lot is overseen by Wood National Cemetery.
Please contact the national cemetery for more information.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
In 1846, with the founding of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, local leaders recognized the necessity of a local cemetery. Forest Home Cemetery was established in 1850 to meet this need. An example of the rural cemetery movement, Forest Home Cemetery originally contained 72 acres of pastoral land located outside of the city center. It is one the oldest rural cemeteries in the region, as well as the final resting place for many significant individuals in Wisconsin history. Sixteen mayors of Milwaukee and five governors of Wisconsin are interred at Forest Home Cemetery. Over the years the cemetery has expanded and today it is 200 acres.
The 0.038-acre soldiers’ lot, located in section 24, block 5, was purchased from Forest Home Cemetery by the federal government in 1872. Most of the initial burials in the soldiers’ lot came from general hospitals in the Milwaukee area. There are 21 interments within this lot.
Forest Home Cemetery, including the soldiers’ lot, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 1980.
Monuments and Memorials
The U.S. Arsenal Monument honors the women who died in an explosion at the Washington Arsenal on June 17, 1864. The tragedy resulted from the accidental ignition of fireworks stored in a lot next to the Arsenal Building at 4-1/2 Half St., SW. Lit by the summer heat, sparks from the fireworks blew into the arsenal as 108 women were making gunpowder cartridges, causing an explosion which killed 21. The memorial was erected on the first anniversary of the fire. The marble and granite structure was produced by sculptor Lot Flannery of the Flannery Brothers Marble Manufacturers, and rises to about 25 feet tall. A small, allegorical female figure symbolizing Grief sits atop a shaft, which is inscribed with the names of the women who perished.
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NOTABLE PERSONS
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.
Artificial flowers and potted plants will be permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. As a general rule, artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
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