CEMETERY PICTORIALS

Portage County Cemetery, AKA Portage County Poor Farm Cemetery

Located on Lake Rd., ˝ mile north of the intersection of Lake Rd. and Old Hwy 18, Section 8, Amherst Twp., Portage Co., Wisconsin. The intersection is near Lake Emily County Park.

This is an inactive cemetery that was once part of the Portage County Poor Farm. Around 1900 Portage County acquired 200 acres, including much of Lake Emily’s shoreline, for a poor farm – a place where indigents lived and worked for their room and board. The farm operated until 1920, when a building housing the residents burned.

There are two markers in the cemetery. The marker for Phebe Quimby appears to be an old stone. It lies flat on the ground, directly behind a new, large stone which records 21 known burials in the cemetery. The people buried in this cemetery and whose names are on the large stone, were determined by finding death records in the Portage County Courthouse. There may be more burials which are not determined.

Click on surname to go to photo