WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM TALKING SPIRITS XXVI – CANDLELIT TOURS AT FOREST HILL CEMETERY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12TH 5:00 – 9:30 PM

Rain Date: October 19th

GENERAL ADMISSION: $15

TICKETS FOR WVM MEMBERS ONLY: CALL 608.261.0540 or email molly.snow@wvmfoundation.com

Please join the Wisconsin Veterans Museum on October 12th for the return of our annual Talking Spirits Candlelit Tours, held at the beautiful Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. On this 90-minute, nighttime walking tour, local actors will portray important figures buried at Forest Hill.

Tours will depart every 20 minutes beginning at 5:00 pm and the last tour will leave at 8:00 pm. These tours are limited to 25 guests per group.

Parking is available on Speedway Road or on neighborhood streets. Parking will not be available inside the cemetery.

***Due to the nature of the tour, the tour is majority in the dark. Therefore, guests might not be able to see the path as clearly as certain spots are uneven and at an incline.

Saturday candlelit tours will be available at the following times:

5:00 p.m. 5:20 p.m. 5:40 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:20 p.m. 6:40 p.m. 7:20 p.m. 7:40 p.m. 8:00 p.m.

Don’t want to miss out? Click here to join our mailing list to receive updates on Cemetery Tour 2024 and other Wisconsin Veterans Museum events.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation for a full refund must be made two weeks prior to the reserved visit. Reservations cancelled after that date will not be refunded.

Theme: Join us as this tour brings you into Wisconsin's journey through the Civil War and beyond. The tour features four vignettes along the route, as actors portray significant Wisconsinites before, during, and after the Civil War, tracing the long history of suffrage and civic responsibility in Wisconsin.

2024 Featured Stories:

Lucius Fairchild - Lucius Fairchild was one of the first men in Madison to step up to serve in the Civil War, in which he led the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment (a part of the famed Iron Brigade). After suffering bullet wounds to the arm in 1863, he was appointed Secretary of State of Wisconsin and then served three terms as the Governor of Wisconsin (1866-1872). Fairchild supported civil rights for Black Americans, women’s suffrage, promoted soldiers’ aid and state institutions, and helped push relief measures to aid victims of the Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin (rather than the simultaneous Great Chicago Fire in Illinois).

Frances Bull Fairchild - Frances Bull Fairchild was the wife of Lucius Fairchild. She was a suffragette who inspired Governor Fairchild to be “a friend of woman suffrage,” and she was motivated by the “Wisconsin pioneer work ethic'' of suffragettes that surrounded her. In 1869, during her time as First Lady of Wisconsin, UW—Madison began awarding bachelor’s degrees to women, recognizing “woman’s wants and woman’s capabilities” and pushing women in Wisconsin closer to the ballot box.

Jairus Fairchild - Jairus Fairchild was an American politician and a businessman. He was the first State Treasurer of Wisconsin and the first Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. In the 1857 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, he was a candidate for Governor but lost the nomination to James B. Cross. He was also the father of Wisconsin's tenth governor, Lucius Fairchild.

Ezekiel Gillespie – Ezekiel Gillespie was born into slavery in 1818. He moved to Milwaukee after purchasing his freedom and changed Wisconsin history. Active in his community, Gillespie worked to free others via the Underground Railroad, and is credited with helping to found the first A.M.E. church in Wisconsin. But in 1865, when Gillespie attempts to vote and is denied, his impact became historic. His case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court opened the door for Black men in Wisconsin to vote, and Ezekiel Gillespie is the first to do so.

Questions? Please direct any questions about this event to visitor.curator@dva.wisconsin.gov.

This event is suitable for all ages.

This event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation and this project is supported by the Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.