La Belle Cemetery

One of the famous La Belle Cemetery gravesites

The La Belle Cemetery is located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on 700 E Grove St.^[1] The cemetery was first built in 1851, and was originally called Henshall Place, which is now part of Fowler Park. Henshall Place was the first cemetery in recorded Oconomowoc history.^[2] The cemetery then moved to Walnut St, which is now the parking lot of O’Reily’s Autoparts. In 1864, the Wisconsin Legislature approved the removal of all the bodies from the Oconomowoc Cemetery on Walnut St to the current La Belle Cemetery grounds.^[3] The land that is now the grounds for the La Belle Cemetery was first owned by Charles Sheldon, which he donated when the Oconomowoc Cemetery became too crowded.^[4]

There are many different symbols, stones, sections and mausoleums located in the La Belle Cemetery. The oldest recorded stones that are currently still in the ground have been there since the early 1800s, there are even some graves where no headstone is placed and there is no records of whom is buried there, just a little X marking that someone is buried in that spot. The most common symbols found on the head stones are religious crosses. There are also headstones that are made from marble, granite and slate.^[5] There are two main mausoleums people go to visit, the Kohl’s and the Sheldon’s. Throughout the cemetery, there is a sections specified for babies that were aged >1 day old-6 years old. Another section was specified for the newest style headstones, which are black marble with pictures and drawings. In the cemetery spread all around, there are symbols for the wars that some of the people fought, died in and helped out in. Families are also put in a section together where they share one huge headstone with their last names and little ones with their first names and date of birth and death date.

Famous people buried there

John Rockwell (wives and children)

John Rockwell was known as the “father of Oconomowoc”. He was born on March 25, 1810, and died on February 3rd, 1863.^[6] He was not the first settler in Oconomowoc, but he was the man responsible for making Oconomowoc the town it is today. He did not just start the community by owning the land, but by building the town’s first store, hotel, fire department and library. Buying land and giving it up to the town to give other settlers opportunities to live and grow in Oconomowoc. He donated his land to anyone who desired to make something of their lives and to help the town succeed.

Henry Jordan

Henry Jordan was born January 25, 1935.^[7] Was a hall of famer and was drafted in 1959 to the Green Bay Packers. Jordan was a defensive tackle and also played for the Cleveland Browns for two years before the Packers (1957–1959). He retired in 1969 from an injury and went on to create Summerfest in Milwaukee. Henry Jordan was number 74, he was 6’2” and 248 lbs. Almost every year, somebody comes by his grave and places the current Packer schedule on his tombstone.

Charles Sheldon

Charles Sheldon was the first white man in Oconomowoc to buy land. The land he actually bought is now the current home of the Labelle Cemetery. He donated the land after Herschel Place became too crowded. Charles Sheldon’s wife is buried in the cemetery and it is believed that he is buried next to her but there is no proof.^[8] They know that something is buried in that spot, they are just not sure what.

Kohl family

The Kohl’s were a rich family in early Oconomowoc. They owned a large mansion on Lac La Belle Lake. The Kohl Mausoleum is the centerpiece of the cemetery, placed at the highest point on the property. They purchased the whole top of the hill for their family to be buried but after Mr. Kohl died, they could not afford to pay the rent so Mrs. Kohl had to give part of their land back to the cemetery committee. Now only the mausoleum building in the center of the hill is for the Kohl family. Many antiques from the Kohl Family estate can be found around Oconomowoc including the two griffin statues found inside the Oconomowoc Public Library.

Rumors of hauntings at La Belle Cemetery

The largest rumor of hauntings at the La belle is the Nathusius Monument. It stands overlooking Fowler Lake. There is a large statue monument sculpted as a cross and a woman mourning holding a bouquet of flowers. There are four people buried there, including the mother, Louise, the father Carl, the daughter Carolina, and brother Wilhelm. The Nathusius family had two other daughters that aren't buried at La belle. Anna died in 1862 when she was 2, and Minnie died in 1886 when she was 27. Both of them were buried in Dodge County. Another theory at La Belle is the young teenage girl Mary, who committed suicide by jumping off the La Belle bridge and drowning herself. It is thought that the Nathusius statue was made for Mary. There are many claims and articles that report the ghost of Mary walking down to Fowler Lake and drowning herself in the waters.

References

1. "La Belle Cemetery".
2. Rohr, Ellen M. (2011). "Henshall Place".
3. "Legislature of Wisconsin, in the year 1864". books.Google.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
4. "History of Oconomowoc".
5. "Selections of Colors for Gravestones". 2014.
6. "John S. Rockwell". Sep 3, 2014.
7. "Henry W. Jordan". Sep 3, 2004.
8. "Mary Abby "May" Merriam Sheldon". Oct 27, 2012.

Coordinates: 43°06′42″N 88°29′15″W / 43.111636°N 88.487477°W