Forest Home

The history of Forest Home / German Waldheim cemetery is one of the most unique we have come across. Originally inhabited by the Pottawatamie Indians, who buried their dead on part of the land now occupied by the cemetery, the property was sold by the U.S. Government to a French trapper named Leon Bourasea after the Pottawatamie had been exiled from their homeland. Bourasea later sold the land to Ferdinand Haase, a Prussian immigrant. Haase established his family home, a gravel mine, and a dairy farm on the property. In the 1850s, he shifted gears, turning the dairy farm into a public picnic ground known as “Haase’s Park.” The park was closed when attendance dwindled due to the popularity of Chicago’s Lincoln Park. In 1872, Haase sold a portion of his land to German Lutherans who established Concordia Cemetery. He sold another tract to German fraternal organizations that established German Waldheim Cemetery in 1873. Haase and his sons retained ownership of the remainder of the property and, following a visit to Cincinnati’s spectacular Spring Grove Cemetery, opened Forest Home Cemetery in 1876. Ninety-two years later, in 1968, German Waldheim and Forest Home merged under the common name, Forest Home. Although both cemeteries originally featured grand entrance gates, as was the custom at the time, neither remains in existence today. The current modest entrance stands at the former site of the Waldheim gate.