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Welcome to our website, where descendants, kin, and community unite to honor and dignify all human lives. Our nonprofit organization embraces the responsibility of caring for our ancestors, sharing their stories, and preserving their memory. Our mission centers on ensuring respectful final resting places, particularly for those community residents once interred at Milwaukee County Grounds cemeteries.

Locations

Contemporary satellite image of the Milwaukee County Institutions, with cemeteries 1, 2, 3 and 4 outlined. Cemetery 1 was in use 1852-1882. Cemetery 2 was in use 1882-1925; it is covered by buildings and a parking lot. Both of these are south of Watertown Plank Road. Cemetery 3 and 4 are north of Watertown Plank Road. Cemetery 3, Milwaukee County Cemetery, was in use 1925-1974 and Cemetery 4, the Asylum Cemetery, was in use 1880-1914.
Current location of the cemeteries on the Milwaukee County Grounds and the campus of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center
Photograph of a multi-story red brick building. A sign beside the walkway says, "UWM, Sabin Hall, 3413 North Downer Ave."
Sabin Hall (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) where the remains of 2,480 ancestors from the county grounds cemeteries are currently housed
Section of Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum which will be the reburial ground of 831 ancestors disinterred in 2013 from Cemetery 2

Become Involved

Whether you have kin placed to rest in these sacred grounds or are a concerned citizen, we welcome you to explore and join our mission of caring for those interred at each of the four County Grounds cemeteries.

Witness and assist with our endeavor to restore dignity through the respectful reburial of the 1,649 ancestors exhumed in 1991/92 and the 831 ancestors excavated in 2013, currently housed at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for research purposes.

Descendants

If you believe your family member was once buried at the Milwaukee County Grounds and wish to share their names privately, please contact us. Our genealogical research team will handle your inquiry discreetly.

Volunteer

  • Researchers: Our genealogy team works in collaboration with researchers to locate the courageous veterans formerly interred at County Grounds, honoring their valor by providing headstones and connecting their life stories with living family members.

Meet with Us

The board of directors convenes virtually, extending a warm invitation to interested community members to participate. If you’re eager to learn about our initiatives and contribute to restore dignity to those once buried at the County Grounds cemeteries, please contact us.