Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum

Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum is located in Milwaukee’s historic Lincoln Village neighborhood on nearly 200 acres of natural, old-growth beauty and is a certified arboretum. Surrounded by world-renowned architecture and historic works of art that span centuries, Forest Home is the final resting place of many notable people in Milwaukee’s history.

If you’re a sucker for structures, Forest Home Cemetery features buildings designed by two of Milwaukee’s greatest architectural firms, their work impacting our designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

Chapel, designed by famed architects George Ferry and Arthur Clas (the architects known for the Pabst Mansion and the Central Library) and built by the Bentley Co. (which constructed the Tripoli Shrine Center and the North Point Water Tower). A few years later, Ferry & Clas designed a crematory to be located underneath the chapel.

Crematory, designed by Ferry & Class and the finest in the Upper Midwest, opened in 1896 and conducted cremations for 100 years. See the receiving vault where bodies were kept during the winter months, the room where the caskets were lowered from the chapel, the family waiting room and the cremation chamber.

Cemetery office, designed by Alexander Eschweiler, also known for Milwaukee’s pagoda service stations. See the vaults and the historical records we use to find burial locations for family members, historical researchers and genealogists. The original bathrooms are also pretty cool.