La Belle Cemetery is a purportedly-haunted cemetery located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The largest rumor of hauntings at the La Belle is the Nathusius Monument. It stands overlooking Fowler Lake.
Manifestation
- Ghost running into a lake
- Statue crying blood
- Blood on statue’s palms
Background
The cemetery was first built in 1851, and was originally called Henshall Place, which is now part of Fowler Park. Henshall Place was the first cemetery in recorded Oconomowoc history. The cemetery then moved to Walnut St, which is now the parking lot of O’Reily’s Autoparts. In 1862, they moved all the bodies from the Oconomowoc Cemetery on Walnut St to the current La Belle Cemetery grounds. The land that is now the grounds for the La Belle Cemetery was first owned by Charles Sheldon, which he donated when the Oconomowoc Cemetery became too crowded.
There is a large statue monument sculpted as a cross and a woman mourning holding a bouquet of flowers. There are four people buried there, including the mother, Louise, the father Carl, the daughter Carolina, and brother Wilhelm. The Nathusius family had two other daughters that aren’t buried at La belle. Anna died in 1862 when she was 2, and Minnie died in 1886 when she was 27. Both of them were buried in Dodge County. Another theory at La Belle is the young teenage girl Mary, who committed suicide by jumping off the La Belle bridge and drowning herself. It is thought that the Nathusius statue was made for Mary. There are many claims and articles that report the ghost of Mary walking down to Fowler Lake and drowning herself in the waters.
