The "SQ" in the name of the Geocache is to designate this as a "Spirit Quest" cache.
The series began in NorthWest Ohio and it has since expanded across the United States and into Canada as well.
The series is designed to differentiate the listing as having more meaning and give you time to pause, and reflect on things.
Please be respectful of the area and take time to reflect back on the lives of those that have gone-before us...and their contributions to life and society as we know it today.
Thank You.
The pines at Eloise Cemetery
At Henry Ruff near Michigan Avenue in what is now Westland, Michigan, lies a pine-bordered field that is in reality, is a cemetery known as the Eloise Cemetery. This is the last resting place of about 7,100 former residents of the Eloise Hospital and Infirmary, as well as some of the other Wayne County health facilities in the area.
The cemetery was operated as a "Potter's Field", that is a publicly run place to bury the poor unclaimed dead at the public expense.
Eloise Hospital, as the 902-acre complex was known, no longer exists, but from 1839 until 1981, the facility served as the last home to thousands of Wayne County's mentally disadvantaged and indigent residents.
Numbered markers
The residents at Eloise, named after the daughter of Detroit's postmaster in the 1890s, grew their own food, dried tobacco for cigarettes, raised pigs and cattle, even ran their own theater. Through the years, three cemeteries were created on the grounds with the eventual consolidation of all the remains at the location along Henry Ruff Road in the early part of the 1900's.
In the early days patients were buried by inmates or employees of the institution. In 1937 the contract was given to Charles C. Diggs, Sr., who founded "The House of Diggs" which was reputed to be Michigan's largest funeral home at the time.
Topographical map of the area
The patients who died at the institution and had no known relatives, or if their relatives were unwilling or unable to bury them, were given "numbered blocks" to identify their graves. This was common practice at Eloise prior to 1948, when any unclaimed bodies were then sent to the Wayne State University College of Medicine. No further burials were made after that time and due to the problematic or nonexistant recordkeeping of the time, there is limited or missing burial records for the cemetery.
Many of the current area residents did not know that this was a cemetery until recently when a few folks began to research some of the history of the area and found some of the numbered markers that were underneath the surface of the ground.
This picture is a great example of where exactly the grounds of the Eloise Complex relate to Eloise Cemetery's location. It is enshrined by pine trees and stands out in the picture. This aerial view was taken in the 50's when most of this area was still undeveloped, excluding Eloise Asylum. This picture shows just how massive the complex was at that point in time.
The field had not been maintained for over 50 years, but due to some local residents who took an interest in the history of the area, the "field" has recently seen some dramatic changes to begin the process of restoring this property to it's status as a place of respect for those who have gone before. The overgrowth and landscaping has been cut, as well as some folks are being identified, with recently uncovered records from Eloise and the County.
At this time, it is currently "off limits" to everyone but a select few who have been given permission to enter the property. It is not officially recognized or marked as a cemetery by the county, but it's possible that this will change sometime in the future and signage will be added to remind folks of the many people that were once family members to many of the area residents, and should not be forgotten.
There are stories that this field and the Eloise Facility itself, are both haunted. Be aware that you may hear voices amongst the pines... and that it's not just your imagination playing tricks on you.