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THE LONE GRAVE
The grave of young Blanche Grimes.
The grave of young Blanche Grimes is said to be
“the most beautiful, but loneliest grave in Wisconsin”. Her grave is located
on a hilltop in the Columbia area, in Dewhurst township, Clark County. It is
on Fisher Avenue, at the junction of Poertner Road. The marker on this little
one’s grave reads, “Blanche, daughter of Frank and Emma Grimes, born April 1,
1894, died August 5, 1895. Tread softly by the grave of one our hearts had
learned to love”.
Today, visitors of the Black River Country,
passing through what was once the 1890’s boomtown of Columbia, see only a log
cabin and the grave, the only remaining signs of a community that had grown up
rapidly and then experienced a real bust. Dozens of families had moved into
the area, and soon 20 stores were located along the main street. A four room
schoolhouse, a depot, and all types of stores were constructed there. Soon
the settlers found that their land was not fertile making the raising of crops
difficult, so by 1910, most of the settlers had moved to other parts of the
Midwest. One of the families that left was that of Frank & Emma Grimes,
leaving behind the burial ground of their 16 month old daughter and the lone
marker, which tells us the story today.
Bits of history have been pieced together which
were picked up from pioneers of Columbia, who now reside in other parts of
Wisconsin. A Mrs. Leslie Sherman, of Merrillan, once wrote “There are
believed to be 27 graves in this small Columbia Cemetery on the hill, but only
that of Blanche Grimes is marked. Land for the cemetery was donated by the C.
S. Graves Land Company”. Others known to be buried, in unmarked graves in
this cemetery are, the parents of Mr. and Mrs. Louie Hanel, Mrs. Fred Eggiman,
Mrs. John Imoberstag. Louie Hanel, the son, was employed with the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad and resided in Merrillan. The grave of Mrs. Eggiman was
located next to the Blanche Grimes Grave. The Eggiman family moved to Chicago
after the death of the mother.
And so it is told, “The grave of Blanche Grimes
was visited twice each year for 60 years by a sister, Mrs. Rose Gale of
Hillsboro, Mrs. Holmer Wood of Black River Falls, an aunt of Blanche Grimes,
also gave loving attention to the grave. Each year until 1969, the picket
fence around the grave was repaired, repainted white, and artificial flowers
placed upon the grave”.
Through the years, it is told, her marker has
disappeared numerous times only to be returned to its’ original location in
the middle of a night. Her grave seems to be constantly adorned with flowers
and many times visitors have left small coins and tokens of affection upon
it. There are many local superstitions concerning the aspects of good and bad
fortune associated with this roughly carved remembrance of grief for a tiny
daughter who died just short of 17 months of age.
So, Blanch Grimes, one of the 27 persons to be
buried in this Columbia Cemetery is the only one to be remembered by a granite
marker. Her lonely grave in the 133,000 acre forest is beautiful and reminds
visitors of the pioneers who developed the area so many years ago.
----Source: Greenwood Public Library, original copy
owned by Jean Rolstad
The Grimes Grave
"The most beautiful, but loneliest grave in Wisconsin is that of Blanche
Grimes who died in 1895 and was buried on a hilltop in Columbia, Clark
county" said a visitor to the only marked grave in what was an 1890 boom
town. The marker of Blanche reads: "Blanche, daughter of Frank and Emma
Grimes, born April 1, 1894, died August 5, 1895. Tread softly by the grave
of one our hearts had learned to love."
Today, visitors of Black River County , passing through what was once the
boom town of Columbia see only a log cabin and the grave , the only
remaining signs of a community that grew up rapidly and then experienced a
real bust, Real estate sharks from Chicago and St. Louis oversold the area
in the 1890's as a Second Garden-of-Eden. Dozens of families moved into the
area, and soon 20 stores were located along the main street. A four-room
school house, a depot, and all types of stores were constructed. Soon the
settlers found their land was not fertile and raising crops was difficult.
By 1910, most of the settlers had moved to other parts of the Midwest. One
of the families that left was that of Frank Grimes, leaving behind the
burial ground of their 16-month old daughter, and the lone marker which
tells the story today.
The writer has pieced together bits of history picked up from pioneers of
Columbia, now residing in Hillsboro, Merrillan, Black River Falls, and
Neillsville. Mrs. Leslie Sherman of Merrillan writes, "There are believed to
be 27 'graves in the Columbia cemetery on the hill, but only that of Blanche
Grimes is marked. Land for the cemetery was donated by the C. S. Graves Land
Company".
"Others known to be buried in unmarked graves in this cemetery are, the
parents of Mr. and Mrs. Louie Hanel, Mrs. Fred Eggiman, Mrs. John Imoberstag,
Louis Hanel, the son, was employed with Chicago and Northwestern Rail road
and resided later in Merrillan. The grave of Mrs. Eggiman was located next
to the Blanche Grimes Grave. The Eggiman family moved to Chicago after the
death of the mother.
"The grave of Blanche Grimes was visited twice each year for 60 years by
Mrs. Rose Gale of Hillsboro, a sister. Mrs. Holmer Wood of Black River
Falls, an aunt of Blanche Grimes, also gave loving attention to the grave.
Each year Until 1969, the picket fence around the grave was repaired,
repainted white, and artificial flowers placed upon the grave".
The photographer visiting the grave in August, 1969, found the picket fence
in need of repair and showing needs of repainting. A few artificial flowers
still remained on the grave.
So, Blanche Grimes, one of the 27 persons to be buried in the Columbia
cemetery from 65 to 79 years ago, is the only one to be remembered by a
granite marker. Her grave in the 133,000 acre Clark county forest is lonely,
yet beautiful, and reminds visitors of pioneers who developed the area many
years ago.
Others Confirmed Burials
Deal, C. F.; born in
Wisconsin, died of myocardititis, 18-Dec-1922 at the age of 66 yrs., 1
month, and 0 days. Farmer married to Lidia Baughman. Source: Clark
Co., WI Death Records, Vol. 10, pg. 54.
Dow, Lois Rae; born
11-Feb-05 and died 1-Mar-1914 of meningitis and pneumonia, daughter of
Harvey I. & Cora E. (Webster) Dow.
Eggiman, Mrs. Fred
Hanel, Mr. and Mrs. Louie
Imoberstad, Mrs. John
Possible Burials
Cody, Eliza M., born
23-Apr-1852 in Illinois, a widowed nurse whose father was Samuel Drew.
The informant was Mrs. John Bowen. Source: Clark Co., WI Death
Records, Vol. 6, page 1073.
Olevrick, Son; born
prematurely (stillborn) 26-May-1914 in Dewhurst twp.; child of Clums and
Ella Fomesefsly (both Russian born)
Grave of Blanche Grimes( 1 APR 1894 26 AUG 1895). |
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Dewhurst-Lone Grave Cemetery
Thanks to memories recorded in 1974 by Mabel Schelender, we know Knut Wiggins originally donated this burial ground. At least six people are buried there and probably Knut himself. The cemetery grounds are located approximately 13 miles west of Neillsville, WI, at the junction of Poertner Road and Fisher Avenue.
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Information for this article
taken from the Atlas of Clark County, Wisconsin, a cemetery walk through and court
records. Submitted by
Dolores Mohr Kenyon and Jean Rolstad with photos by Janet Schwarze. |
