Forest Cemetery Records
At fifteen acres, Forest Cemetery is the second largest cemetery in Portage County. It is located on the corner of Patch Street and Cleveland Avenue in Stevens Point. General Albert G. Ellis donated the land to the Episcopal Church of the Intercession before the Civil War. The "Episcopal Cemetery" was eventually renamed "Forest Cemetery," and has been owned and maintained by the City of Stevens Point since around 1990.
A few things to keep in mind when searching these records. Interment dates are not necessarily the same as the death date. It is the date that the body or, in the case of cremation, the ashes were buried. In the case of cremation it may be months or even years after the death. For actual death dates you should consult other sources.
Second, in the case of older burials, if there was only a year listed on the tombstone then the city entered the interment date as 01/01/xxxx, with xxxx being the year. So if you encounter a date of Jan 01, 1920 (for example), it may not be the date of burial. The burial may have actually taken place any time in 1920 but was not recorded. You will need to consult other sources.
Also, as these records are from the City Treasurer's Office they include plots that have been purchased but have not been used yet. If you find a person's name with no interment date it may very well be that they are still living.
Locations are set up as Block-Lot-Space. (00-000-00) When looking at the map, first identify the main section number (Block). Within each block there are several boxes with numbers (Lots). Within each Lot there are 8 spaces. The Spaces are set up like this:
4 |
8 |
|---|---|
3 |
7 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
Map of Forest Cemetery (.jpg)
Map of Forest Cemetery (.pdf)
Surnames A - E
Surnames F - L
Surnames M - R
Surnames S - Z