Also known as Town of Franklin Cemetery, and Plain Protestant Cemetery. The land for this cemetery was given by Solomon Cramer. The deed was dated July 4, 1869 and recorded in the Office of Register of Deeds on February 1, 1870. However, three burials are shown for 1857 and a number for the 1860s.
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The cemetery (also known as St. Lucas Cemetery) is located near the southwestern edge of the Village of Plain on Old Highway 23. The plat map location is NE 1/4 SW 1/4 Section 7 T9N R4E in Franklin Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin.
The land for this cemetery was donated by George Neuheisel to Saint Luke's Catholic Church around 1865. A new cemetery (located behind St. Luke's church) was started in April 1918, though some burials were still allowed in the "old" cemetery beyond that date. Beginning in 2009, a restoration project began in which most of the tombstones and markers were repaired with new engravings, iron crosses were repainted, and markers were straightened.
A group of volunteers inscribed all the tombstone inscriptions. These inscriptions can be found in the 1985 book, "Cemetery Inscriptions of Sauk County, Wisconsin - Volume 6" compiled by Myrtle E. Cushing.
Coordinates for the OLD cemetery: Latitude N 43° 16' 6.4848" Longitude 90° 3' 14.9054"
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Land for this cemetery was purchased on May 9, 1918, from Casper and Catherine (Betz) Volk. Perhaps the parish thought the first cemetery was getting too small. The land was somewhat near (across a field) from the site of the third St. Luke church. But on May 21, 1918, a cyclone destroyed the church and plans soon changed. Some tombstones in the old cemetery were damaged.
Buried at this "interim" site was Rev. George Pesch who died of injuries in the cyclone on June 7, 1918; his burial was on June 11, 1918. Pallbearers were Peter Kraemer, Joseph Soeldner, Joseph Frank, Sr., Joseph Bemmerl, William Reuschlein, and Jacob Heiser, Sr.
Three photos exist of Rev. Pesch's funeral procession leading to the interim cemetery. Cars are parked along the dirt road between fields. People can be seen walking up a grassy hill to the burial site. On the pictures can be seen trees that were tipped over and damaged in the cycle. As the people walked up the hill, young girls in white dresses with ribbons in their hair stood on both sides of the path where the people were walking. A woman carrying a baby was followed by three young children.
"PLAIN. A procession of seventy automobiles accompanied the remains of Rev. Fr. Pes[c]h to St. John’s church at Spring Green on Sunday [June 9], the auto hearse from Richland Center was used. The funeral will take place on Tuesday [June 11] at 10:00 o’clock from St. John’s church and interment will be at Plain in the new cemetery. This grave being the first one in the new cemetery. . . . A missionary from La Crosse arrived to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Rev. Fr. Pes[c]h. A priest will arrive later to be here permanently." Baraboo Weekly News, June 13, 1918. (The funeral was in St. John's in Spring Green because the Plain church was destroyed.)
After the Pesch funeral, "the vicar general from La Crosse held a meeting for the purpose of selecting a location for the new Catholic church, schoolhouse and parsonage and sister's home." Baraboo Weekly News, June 20, 1918.
John Beck, age 4-1/2, was killed in the cyclone by a collapsed wall at his parent's farm (Alois and Mary Brechtl Beck). He was possibly also buried at this interim cemetery and exhumed because his tombstone is now in the "new" cemetery. However, minutes of a meeting show that only Rev. Pesch was buried here.
The interim cemetery was used only a few months. It was declared that the cemetery ground was not ideal anyway because underneath was over one foot of stone. "On November 12, 1918, at a special meeting, it was unanimously decided to exchange the former land for the present St. Luke’s new cemetery." The new cemetery land was owned by Frank and Catherina (Zangl) Nachreiner, and John B. and Margaret (Gruber) Brechtl.
Rev. Pesch's body was exhumed on December 27, 1918, and was moved to the current "new" cemetery. The church bells tolled for this event. The grave was blessed by missionary priest Rev. Orlowski of Sparta. John B. Haas and 8 other men did the transfer work. Rev. Charles Surges witnessed the condition of the large steel casket and remarked that it was in perfect condition; it was painted in gray slate and had gold trimmings and handle bars. Photos exist of Rev. Pesch in the casket and closed casket, taken before his first burial.
The interim cemetery was then abandoned because land for a new cemetery was purchased.
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This cemetery is called "new" because it was built after the old 1865 cemetery. At a meeting on November 18, 1918, the Volk land of the interim cemetery was exchanged for the present property which was purchased from Frank and Catherine (Zangl) Nachreiner and from John B. (Sr.) and Margaret (Gruber) Brechtl.
The plat map location is NW 1/4 NW 1/4 Section 8 T9N R4E, south of County Highway B, Franklin Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin. The cemetery is on the side of a hill behind St. Luke's Catholic Church. Driveways divide this cemetery into four quarters. Beyond the cemetery, the hill continues to St. Anne's Hill where St. Anne's Shrine was built in 1928. Stations of the Cross monuments lead from the church, through the cemetery, and end at the shrine and grotto.
A group of volunteers inscribed all the tombstone inscriptions which can be found in the 1985 book, "Cemetery Inscriptions of Sauk County, Wisconsin - Volume 6" compiled by Myrtle E. Cushing.
Coordinates for the NEW cemetery: Latitude N 43° 16' 38.6422" Longitude 90° 3' 10.9175"
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Also known as St. Lucas Cemetery in Plain, Wisconsin. Cemetery location: NE 1/4 SW 1/4, Section 7, T9N, R4E, in Franklin Township, on the southwest side of the village of Plain. The restoration project began about August 2009 by the Tom Kraemer family. The Paul and Walburga (Stangl) Krämer/Kraemer tombstone was expanded to show a genealogy chart and timeline with a map of Germany. This work was done by the families of Tom, Marty and Kevin Kraemer and Kraemer Brothers, LLC with an unveiling and dedication that took place on October 16, 2010.
By the end of the year in 2009, more tombstones were restored with new bases, tipping stones were straightened, iron crosses were repainted, and new engravings added. Work continued into the warmer months of 2010 and was completed in 2012. A plaque on near the entrance arch read, "This restoration is dedicated to the legacy of our ancestors who arrived here from Europe in the 1800s and whose courage to start new lives in a new world has inspired many generations. Restoration 2009-2012. Tom, Marty & Kevin Kraemer, July 2012."
For more about this project see Gary Haas' Plain History Genealogy Group newsletter, Volume 51 October 2009, page 3 (look for the file "phgnl051.pdf" near the bottom of the page)
In May 2019, expansion of the cemetery began with two new sections carved out on the south end of the cemetery. Facing St. Anne's Hill, the news sections are on the left.
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St. Luke's old Catholic cemetery
St. Luke's new Catholic cemetery
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Sauk County: St. Luke's old and new Catholic cemeteries are not listed
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St. Luke's old Catholic cemetery