Black Oak

written by Amanda Lambert

Black Oak Cemetery is situated in the Town of Farmington, La Crosse County, Wisconsin, and probably takes its name from Black Oak School which was located on the southwest corner of the junction of Hwy. Q and Perkins Road. The cemetery site is just south of that area, nestled in a thick grove of pine trees.

On April 6, 1874, George W. Havens sold the property to Jacob Welda [La Crosse County Register of Deeds, volume 44 page 190] for $800 "except the following tract reserved and known as the 'Green Wood Grave Yard'...; also 13 rods square is reserved near the northeast corner as a school house site...." Today it is known by the name Black Oak Cemetery.

Glancing at the dates and names on the stone markers while wandering the cemetery, one is quick to see that the majority of the graves are those of small children, often buried alone without relatives nearby. Because of the rough conditions of early pioneer life, many children simply couldn't survive epidemics such as diphtheria, measles and influenza. Most of the child size graves date to the 1850's when the first settlers moved through the area. Families brought their departed young to Black Oak Cemetery burying them with small tombstones inscribed with dates, ages and religious verses.

Search our online cemetery database

Census List Details: