The Descendant Community of Milwaukee County Grounds Cemeteries, Inc. is honored to announce that Milwaukee County Grounds Cemetery 2 has been added to the Black Cemetery Network and is currently the only Wisconsin cemetery recognized within the network.
Cemetery 2 served as Milwaukee County’s public burial ground from 1882 to 1925 and is the resting place of more than 7,200 individuals, including approximately 150 African Americans. Research shows that African Americans were buried here at disproportionately high rates and were more likely to be subjected to anatomical study under laws affecting those who died without financial means.
The cemetery also reflects a long history of disturbance. Burial markers were removed in the late 1920s, more than half of the cemetery was destroyed during construction in 1932, approximately 900 burials were paved over in 1985, and 2,480 individuals were exhumed in 1991–1992 and 2013 and have yet to be returned to rest.
Today, descendants continue working to identify those buried here, reconnect families with their ancestors, and advocate for respectful reburial and remembrance. Recognition within the Black Cemetery Network highlights both the cemetery’s significance in African American history and the ongoing efforts to preserve its stories.
Learn more:
https://blackcemeterynetwork.org/bcnsites/milwaukee-county-grounds-cemetery-2