Mound Cemetery: the perfect retreat for Halloween and History 2026
Learn the history and safety protocol when exploring Mound Cemetery this Halloween season
Halloween is the perfect time to explore a cemetery, hunt for headstones, tell ghost stories, and visit historical reenactments or cemetery walks. Mound Cemetery is Racine’s best place to find historical figures, beautiful headstones, and unique mausoleums. It includes the founders of many of Racine’s industrial companies, including J.I. Case, Stephen Bull, William Horlick, Samuel Curtis Johnson, Robert Hall Baker, and Lucius Blake. Racine’s founder, Gilbert Knapp, is also laid to rest within Mound’s grounds.
Mound Cemetery is well preserved with headstones from Modern Woodmen of America (MWOA) and towering family markers. It has a designated veterans memorial and is a quiet retreat from the outside world.
While Mound doesn’t have any ghost or historical walks planned for this year, community members have used the grounds.
“I’m told that people have walked through the cemetery with recording equipment from time to time,” said Matt Koepnick, Director of the City of Racine Cemeteries committee.
Mound Cemetery’s History
Mound Cemetery is named for the 14 Native American burial mounds preserved within the cemetery. It was established in 1852, 4 years after Racine became a city. The grounds cover 55 acres and serve as the resting place for over 34,000 recorded burials.
Mound was created to replace Racine’s first public cemetery, located two miles away at the Winslow Elementary School site on Park Avenue. Burials from Evergreen Cemetery and the former public cemetery were exhumed and moved to Mound Cemetery.
The burial mounds are located in sections 1 through 6 in the northwest corner of the grounds. Industrialist Row, which is home to the leading industrial families of Racine County, is located in sections 13 and 28. J. I. Case’s mausoleum is along 12th Street and Horlick Drive, and William Horlick and SC Johnson’s mausoleums are kept in the southeast corner near Horlick Drive.
Historical figures such as Stephen Bull, Gilbert Knapp, Lucius Blake, Robert Hall Baker, Henry Durand, and the Taylor family are buried near the cemetery entrance, to the right of the bridge. One of the cannons Henry Durand had obtained during the Civil War remains on the grounds and can be seen from 12th Street.
Proper Conduct
A cemetery is often a place of quiet and reflection. Families come to visit passed loved ones, and some spend hours at a graveside. If you plan to explore a cemetery, here are some guidelines based on Mound Cemetery’s posted signs and Racine’s Code of Ordinances.
Don’t run through the cemetery. The ground can be uneven with tree roots, dips, and headstones. It is best to walk either on the paved path or through the rows in the plots.
The best way to venture through the grounds is to drive slowly and pay attention to people, headstones, and wildlife. According to Racine’s Code of Ordinances, there is a $50 fine for speeding through a cemetery in a motorized vehicle.
Dogs are not allowed on the grounds, and anyone who brings a dog to the cemetery will be fined $50. The community is allowed to walk and bike along the cemetery paths, but should remain aware of their surroundings.
The cemetery is closed to visitors from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Anyone found trespassing on the grounds during those hours can be fined $100.
A cemetery is seen as a quiet retreat and a place for reflection. Even though it is outside, being loud isn’t encouraged. If a service or gathering is taking place in the cemetery, it’s best to give them space.
Loved ones will leave flowers and mementos on graves, such as coins, toy cars, or pinwheels. These items are not to be taken, and planted flowers are not to be picked in the cemetery. Groundskeepers maintain the area, and fall and spring cleanings remove any items left at graves.
Many of the headstones found in a cemetery as old as Mound are well worn and fragile. Fixing a headstone requires specific materials and care so that the information on the stone isn’t worn away. Headstones have been damaged in the past from fallen tree branches, storms, erosion, or vandalism. Some of the headstones in the cemetery lie flat on the ground and should not be touched. The latest act of vandalism was in 2020, when headstones that were a century old were damaged, including the headstone of an infant. Anyone found damaging cemetery property will be fined $300.
Exploring
If you are interested in history, art and architecture, genealogy, or enjoy being in nature, the cemetery is a great place to explore. It offers a space to connect with those who’ve come before us and poses the question of what people will remember about us when it’s our turn to find rest in a cemetery.
“I hope people come away with a greater appreciation for Racine’s history and the people who helped shape our community,” said Koepnick. “Mound Cemetery is a place of remembrance, but it also tells a broader story through its historic Native American burial mounds, unique monuments and headstones, mature trees, and landscape.”
