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La Crosse WI. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of Oak Grove Cemetery in La Crosse, La Crosse County, on the State Register of Historic Places.

Established in the mid-nineteenth century as a privately owned, secular cemetery, the Oak Grove Cemetery Association acquired the grounds in 1872 and created a new design that exemplified the ideals of the Rural Cemetery Movement that had become popular in the United States. So-called “rural” cemeteries (named for their spacious and rustic landscapes rather than their locations) were typically located at the edges of the cities they were meant to serve and featured meandering pathways, heavy tree growth and other naturalistic plantings, and rolling topography that frequently rose to create scenic vistas.

Throughout its history, numerous monuments and memorials were installed at Oak Grove Cemetery, including grand memorials to Governor C.C. Washburn, Joseph Losey (long-time benefactor of the Oak Grove Cemetery Association), and area Civil War veterans. The site also became home to a sizable community mausoleum in 1912 and several small family mausoleums.  In addition, Oak Grove contains an especially fine and varied collection of smaller-scale burial markers and monuments that display American funerary art and architecture from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and the National Register in Wisconsin. 

Additional information for Oak Grove Cemetery is available at

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI68737

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: www.wisconsinhistory.org.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.