Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA pauper's cemetery for patients of the demolished Eau Claire County Insane Asylum, where many graves are marked only 'Unknown' and visitors have reported an unseen presence rushing toward them.
West Ridge Dr & Mesa Ridge Dr, Eau Claire, WI 54701
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free; publicly accessible grounds
Access
Limited Access
Park and wooded area; uneven ground with some unpaved paths
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1880 · County poor farm and asylum history · Anonymous pauper burial ground · Institutional history of mental health care
The Eau Claire County Poor Farm and Insane Asylum was established in the 1880s on county-owned land southeast of the city center, following the pattern of county-run institutions that blended poor relief with psychiatric custodial care across Wisconsin. The facility housed both indigent residents placed by county overseers and patients committed for mental illness, often with little distinction between the two populations.
The associated cemetery served those who died in the institution's care with no family to claim the remains and no funds for private burial. Many were interred without individual markers, or with markers that recorded only a number or the word 'Unknown.' The cemetery represents a population that was largely invisible in its own time and is difficult to trace in the documentary record.
The asylum building was demolished in 1991, ending more than a century of institutional use on the site. The land became parkland and wooded open space. A historical marker was installed to document the site's history, and in 2007 the cemetery was formally renamed Old Orchard Cemetery. The Eau Claire Dark History Tour has cited this as one of the oldest grave sites in the city.
Sources
The paranormal account most consistently associated with Old Orchard Cemetery dates to 1999. According to documentation compiled by local tour operators and the Visit Eau Claire tourism bureau, witnesses at the former asylum site reported hearing something rush toward them through the darkness — a rapid approach of indeterminate origin, with nothing visible when they turned to look.
The Eau Claire Dark History Tour includes the site in its coverage of the city's oldest burial grounds. The combination of anonymous graves — many marked only 'Unknown' — and the institutional history of the demolished asylum gives the site a persistent reputation that draws paranormal investigators.
The cemetery occupies a park and wooded area on the south side of Truax, between Old Orchard Road and County Farm Road. The absence of the original asylum building means there is no architectural focal point; the graves themselves, interspersed with open grass and trees, constitute the site.
Self-guided visit to the former asylum pauper's cemetery. Many markers read only 'Unknown.' The site is on the south side of Truax between Old Orchard Road and County Farm Road, now incorporated into a park and wooded area.
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