Oconomowoc's Lakeside Cemetery and the Nathusius Monument
N Lake Rd, Oconomowoc, WI 53066
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to visit during daylight hours
Access
Limited Access
Grass and gravel paths, uneven surfaces
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1851 · Civil War · Pioneer Cemetery · Victorian Memorial Art
On May 9, 1851, twelve founding members of Oconomowoc's civic life gathered at the local Methodist Church and established what became the Oconomowoc Cemetery Association, creating the town's first recorded cemetery. The land was donated by Charles B. Sheldon, and the site was initially known as Henshall Place.
As the town grew, the original grounds on Walnut Street could no longer accommodate new burials. In 1864, state legislator Joel R. Carpenter introduced a bill authorizing the removal of all remains to a new location. The measure passed, and the Association selected the current grounds along the shore of Fowler Lake, renaming it La Belle Cemetery.
The cemetery now holds more than 8,000 interments, with gravestones dating to the early 1800s. A dedicated section contains the graves of over 90 men who fought in the American Civil War, including the last surviving Civil War veteran in Waukesha County, who was buried there in 1942. Two significant mausoleums — belonging to the Kohl and Sheldon families — stand within the grounds, along with a section dedicated to infants and young children.
Some graves are marked only by X symbols, with no surviving burial records. The most prominent feature added in the 20th century is the Nathusius Monument, erected in the 1940s: a life-size granite sculpture of a woman gazing at the ground, a bouquet of flowers in her hands, created by an Italian artist then living in Vermont. It stands overlooking Fowler Lake.
Sources
The focal point of LaBelle Cemetery's folklore is entirely specific: the Nathusius Monument, a 1940s granite sculpture depicting a woman with a bouquet of flowers, positioned to overlook Fowler Lake.
The legend holds that the woman buried in this plot — sometimes called Mary — drowned in the nearby lake. The monument, according to local accounts, occasionally re-enacts this death. Witnesses report seeing the statue descend from its base and walk toward the water. The effect is said to occur only on certain nights, and only for those positioned at just the right vantage point.
The statue's physical appearance is also subject to reported changes. Accounts describe the granite hands turning black, and what appears to be blood running from the figure's eyes. A separate tradition holds that removing the pennies sometimes left at the base will bring a curse of blindness.
The Nathusius Monument was created by an Italian sculptor then working in Vermont, and erected in the 1940s. The family name is documented in the cemetery's burial records. The specific drowning incident that allegedly anchors the legend has not been independently confirmed in historical records.
Notable Entities
Walk the grounds of Oconomowoc's oldest cemetery, established 1851, and find the Nathusius Monument — a life-size granite sculpture of a woman by an Italian artist, overlooking Fowler Lake, that is the focal point of most reported activity. The Civil War section holds over 90 veterans, including the last surviving Civil War veteran in Waukesha County.
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