Wauwatosa Cemetery and Chapel Complex listed on National Register of Historic Places

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Wisconsin Historical Society announced the Wauwatosa Cemetery and Chapel Complex in the National Register of Historic Places. The listing was made June 12, 2023.

Established in 1866 on 14 acres of land that borders Wauwatosa Avenue, the cemetery grounds include a rolling topography of meandering walkways, stone entrance markers, stone retaining wall and fence surrounding the property that contains a chapel and small grave stones. The Wauwatosa Cemetery and Chapel Complex is significant as a 19th century cemetery that reflects American burial customs in Wisconsin at the time.

According to a news release, the property features a chapel that was originally constructed in 1853 in the Greek Revival style for the First Baptist Church. The building features a symmetrical composition with a double front-gable roof, the smaller of which serves as a portico with column supports that shelters the primary entrance. The chapel was converted to an armory for the Wauwatosa Minute Men before it was relocated to Wauwatosa Cemetery as a funerary chapel in 1915.

Local businessman Frederick D. Underwood aimed to preserve the chapel, where his father was an elder and grandfather was on the Board of Trustees. He preserved the building in perpetuity by creating a new use on the cemetery grounds. At this time, the chapel was altered to include a raised alter area in front of a casket lift comprised of concrete walls and wood panel doors; additionally, an office for the sexton and reinforced concrete vaults were added to the lower level to accommodate the new use. Although the chapel was closed to the public in 1951, the Cemetery Association plans to restore the building for future use.