Crown Hill Cemetery
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Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic
rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...
located at 700 West 38th Street in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Marion County, Indiana Marion County is located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States census reported a population of 977,203, making it the 54th-most populous county in the U.S., the most populous county in the state, and the main population center ...
. The privately owned
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high point overlooking Indianapolis. It is approximately northwest of the city's center. Crown Hill was dedicated on June 1, 1864, and encompasses , making it the third largest non-governmental
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Its grounds are based on the landscape designs of
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landscape architect and cemetery superintendent John Chislett Sr and Prussian horticulturalist Adolph Strauch. In 1866, the U.S. government authorized a U.S. National Cemetery for Indianapolis. The Crown Hill National Cemetery is located in Sections 9 and 10. Crown Hill contains of paved road, over 150 species of trees and plants, over 225,000 graves, and services roughly 1,500 burials per year. Crown Hill is the final resting place for individuals from all walks of life, from political and civic leaders to ordinary citizens, infamous criminals, and unknowns.
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
, 23rd
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, and Vice Presidents Charles W. Fairbanks, Thomas A. Hendricks, and Thomas R. Marshall are buried at Crown Hill. Infamous bank robber and "Public Enemy #1" John Dillinger is another internee. The gravesite of Hoosier poet
James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...
overlooks the city from "The Crown". Many of the cemetery's mausoleums, monuments, memorials, and structures were designed by architects, landscape designers, and sculptors such as Diedrich A. Bohlen, George Kessler, Rudolf Schwarz, Adolph Scherrer, and the architectural firms of D. A. Bolen and Son and Vonnegut and Bohn, among others. Works by contemporary sculptors include David L. Rodgers, Michael B. Wilson, and Eric Nordgulen. The cemetery's administrative offices, mortuary, and crematorium are located at 38th Street and Clarendon Road on the cemetery's north grounds. Crown Hill's Waiting Station, built in 1885 at its east entrance on 34th Street and Boulevard Place, serves as a meeting place for tours and programs. The Crown Hill Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established in 1984, raises funds to preserve the cemetery's historic buildings and grounds. Crown Hill Cemetery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on February 28, 1973.


History

Crown Hill was not Indianapolis's first major cemetery. Alexander Ralston included a cemetery site in his 1821 plan of Indianapolis at the south end of Kentucky Avenue, where it intersects South and West Streets. Prior to the establishment of Crown Hill Cemetery in 1863, the city's main cemetery was expanded in the 1830s to create the Greenlawn Cemetery on the city's southwest side. During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Greenlawn was quickly filling with burials of Union soldiers and Confederate
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
and faced encroachment from west side industrial development. By the end of the 1870s it was closed to further interments due to lack of space. The normal demands of a growing city, along with the capacity issues at Greenlawn, prompted a group of Indianapolis's civic-minded men to establish a new and larger cemetery within five miles of the city. On September 12, 1863, the men met with John Chislett Sr, a
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
landscape architect and cemetery superintendent, to discuss ideas for a cemetery that would be based on the park-like settings becoming popular in Europe, most notably the
Pere Lachaise Cemetery Pere may refer to: *Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county *Pärtel-Peeter Pere (born 1985), Estonian entrepreneur, urban strategist, and politician *Rose Pere, Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New ...
in
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. On September 25, 1863, the group formed the Association of Crown Hill. Its selection committee bought a farm and tree nursery owned by Martin Williams for $51,500. The site for the new cemetery at Strawberry Hill, a high point overlooking Indianapolis, was northwest of the city. The committee also acquired adjacent acreage of naturally rolling terrain from other sources. On October 22, 1863, a 30-member Board of Corporators (trustees) formally established Crown Hill as a privately owned cemetery.Sanford, p. 1. Once the initial land was secured, the board hired Chislett's son, Frederick, as Crown Hill's first superintendent. He arrived in Indianapolis with his wife and children on December 31, 1863. Frederick supervised the construction of the cemetery's first roads and developed the property's grounds based on the landscape designs of his father and Prussian horticulturalist Adolph Strauch. The design retained many of the cemetery's natural features and laid out winding roads to create a landscape in the Victorian Romantic style. The cemetery's first main entrance was off old Michigan Road (later known as Northwestern Avenue and currently as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard). Crown Hill Cemetery was dedicated on June 1, 1864.Wissing, p. 17. The first burial at Crown Hill was the body of Lucy Ann Seaton, aged 33, a young mother who had died of consumption. Later that year, James Pattison built a stone gateway for $2,300 at the cemetery's west entrance off Michigan Road. The cemetery's east entrance at 34th Street opened in 1864.Sanford, p. 3. Omnibus transportation reached the cemetery in 1864. Visitors could also travel by steam-powered boat up the Central Canal to reach Crown Hill. Automobiles were allowed on the grounds beginning in 1912. In 1866, the federal government purchased of land within the grounds of Crown Hill for a national military cemetery. The bodies of more than 700 Union soldiers who had died in Indianapolis during the Civil War were moved from Greenlawn Cemetery to new graves at the National Cemetery. On May 30, 1868, Crown Hill, along with Arlington National Cemetery and 182 others in 27 states, took part in the country's first Memorial Day celebrations. An estimated crowd of 10,000 attended the Crown Hill ceremony, beginning an annual tradition at the site. By the mid-1800s, Crown Hill was a burial ground as well as a popular location for recreational activities such as picnics, strolls, and carriage rides. It is well known for its views of downtown Indianapolis from "The Crown". In addition to developing the cemetery grounds, Crown Hill's Corporators built new structures on the site. A Gothic chapel and vault was erected in 1875. The main entrance was moved to 34th Street on the cemetery's east side, where the cemetery's Waiting Station building and a three-arched gateway were erected in 1885. A new gate and gatehouse were built at the west entrance in 1900 to replace earlier structures that were demolished. Over several decades Crown Hill's grounds expanded to include substantial parcels of land north of 38th Street (known then as Maple Road). In 1911, the acquisition of at the northwest corner of Crown Hill made the grounds the third largest nongovernmental cemetery in the United States. Crown Hill's Pioneer Cemetery was established on the north grounds in 1912. The bodies of 1,160 early settlers from Greenlawn Cemetery were moved to this new section at Crown Hill. The remains of 33 people from Rhoads Cemetery, established on the city's west side in 1844, were interred in the Pioneer Cemetery in 1999. Bodies from the Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery located near Castleton on the city's northeast side were moved to the Pioneer Cemetery in 2008–09. The cemetery's grounds continued to change. In 1914, landscape architect George Kessler designed a brick and wrought-iron fence nearly long. It was completed in the early 1920s and surrounded three quarters of the cemetery's south grounds and the southern end of the north grounds along 38th Street. A bridge/underpass that became known as the Subway passed beneath 38th Street to connect the north and south grounds.Sloan, pp. 1, 3. Although Crown Hill faced competition from other cemeteries in the area, it continued to expand. More than 100,000 people were buried there by the late 1930s and more than 155,000 by the late 1970s. The cemetery's Community Mausoleum was formally dedicated in 1951. Building five of the Garden Mausoleums, a series of outdoor mausoleums, was completed in 1962. A new administrative building by Bohlen and Burns was dedicated in 1969.Sanford, p. 10. By the early 1980s, Crown Hill was valued at nearly $3 million. Its annual sales were estimated at $250,000, with an operating budget of $895,000. The cemetery employed 15 salaried employees, 21 full-time maintenance workers, and 25 seasonal workers. Preservation of the cemetery's monuments and structures remained an ongoing concern to Crown Hill's board. The Crown Hill Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, was established in 1984 to raise funds for restoration of the cemetery's historic buildings and its grounds. By 1997 the foundation had raised $1.8 million, with an additional $3.2 million raised later, to restore the Gothic Chapel and make other improvements to the cemetery. In the 1990s Crown Hill added a mortuary and a new crematorium. On February 28, 1973, Crown Hill Cemetery, including the National Cemetery, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The National Cemetery portion, which is listed separately, was added to the National Register on April 29, 1999. On October 19, 1976, the Indiana Historical Bureau and the Board of Corporators of Crown Hill Cemetery erected a historical marker for the cemetery honoring its historic significance to Indiana and the United States. The first African American female, Cynthia Strayhorn Whisler, served as the managing director of Crown Hill Cemetery in 1996. Milton O. Thompson, a lawyer, former deputy Marion County prosecutor, and founder of a sports and entertainment management company became the board's first African American member. Hilary Stour Salatich, a Conseco executive and civic leader, became the first female corporator in 1997.Wissing, pp. 241–243. In 2007, Gibraltar Remembrance Services began managing Crown Hill Cemetery. Service Corporation International acquired Gibraltar Remembrance Services in 2018.


Special sections


National Cemetery

In 1866 the U.S. government authorized a U.S. National Cemetery for Indianapolis as a burial site for Union soldiers who died in military camps and hospitals near the city during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. The National Cemetery is located on within the grounds of Crown Hill in Section 10 The federal government purchased the site from Crown Hill's board for $5,000. On October 19, 1866, the remains of the first Union soldier were removed from Greenlawn Cemetery and interred at the National Cemetery at Crown Hill. By November 1866, the bodies of 707 soldiers had been moved from Greenlawn to the National Cemetery. As of December 31, 1998, the National Cemetery is filled. It encompasses 795 burial sites.


Confederate soldiers' burials

Crown Hill is also a burial site for Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Morton, a prison camp located north of Indianapolis. In 1931, when industrial development around Greenlawn Cemetery required the bodies of the Confederate prisoners to be moved, their remains were interred in a mass grave known as the Confederate Mound in Section 32 at Crown Hill. In 1993 a memorial with ten bronze plaques listing the names of the 1,616 Confederate soldiers and sailors who died at Camp Morton was dedicated at the site.


Field of Valor

Wars in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
prompted expansion of Crown Hill's military sections to include the Field of Valor on of the north grounds. It was dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 2004. The Eternal Flame and Eagle Plaza installed in front of the memorial were dedicated on Veterans Day in 2005.


Nature

Wildlife abounds in Crown Hill Cemetery, which serves as a large refuge for birds, white-tailed deer, and small animals. The cemetery's grounds are home to more than 10,000 trees of some 130 unique species. In 2022, Crown Hill earned Level II Accreditation by the
ArbNet ArbNet is an international arboretum accreditation and networking program. The ArbNet program is supported and coordinated through The Morton Arboretum, with partners American Public Gardens Association and Botanic Gardens Conservation Internati ...
Arboretum Accreditation Program.


Artworks

There are many works of art on the property, some of which are freestanding, but most of which are associated with a gravesite. Notable examples include: * James Whitcomb Riley's Tomb: Following Riley's death on July 22, 1916, Crown Hill's board offered his family the prestigious site at "The Crown", the summit of Crown Hill that overlooks Indianapolis, as his final resting place. His was buried there on October 6, 1917. Riley's gravesite is marked with a large, open-canopied monument. * Forrest Memorial: This is the gravesite of Albertina Allen Forrest, wife of
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
professor and Citizens Gas general manager Jacob Dorrsey Forrest. She died on April 27, 1904. To mark the grave, her husband commissioned Viennese sculptor Rudolf Schwarz, whose work adorns numerous monuments and memorials including the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Indianapolis, to create "Statue in Repose", a kneeling woman in mourning beneath a couplet from
Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
's "In Memoriam". Albertina's husband, who died in 1930, is buried in an unmarked grave beside the memorial. * Three limestone statues depicting the Greek goddesses
Themis In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; ) is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, law, and custom. She is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is associated with oracles a ...
,
Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...
, and
Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...
from the old Marion County Courthouse. The courthouse was demolished in 1962.Sanford, p. 20. * Equatorial Sundial:David L. Rodgers was commissioned to create the functional
sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
in 1985. It was fabricated of Indiana limestone in
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
, and installed in front of the Community Mausoleum in 1987.Wissing, p. 228. * The Hoosier Artists Contemporary Sculpture Walk: Established to mark Crown Hill's 140th anniversary, the walk includes works by ten artists, including Michael B. Wilson's "Social Attachments" and Eric Nordgulen's "Antenna Man". * Holcomb Mausoleum Door: Part of a memorial for James Irving Holcomb, an Indianapolis industrialist and a Vice President of the Butler University board of trustees


Notable memorials

* Medical Science Donor Memorial, installed in 1991. In 1978 the Anatomical Education Board of the
Indiana University School of Medicine The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major, multi-campus medical school located throughout the US state, U.S. state of Indiana and is both the Medical school, undergraduate and Graduate medical education, graduate medical school o ...
purchased Section 41-A to inter the cremated remains of bodies that had been studied. As of 2011 more than one thousand medical donors have been recognized at the memorial. * Indiana AIDS Memorial, dedicated on October 29, 2000, is the first permanent
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
memorial located in a cemetery. * The Heroes of Public Safety monument, dedicated on September 11, 2002, is inscribed with the names of police, firefighters, and other public safety personnel who died in the line of duty. * The Hearts Remembered Memorial, dedicated on June 4, 2006, remembers the city's orphaned and abandoned children, many of whom were buried in unmarked graves.


Structures

* Gothic chapel – Indianapolis architect Diedrich A. Bohlen designed the High Victorian Gothic-style chapel and vault, which were built east of the National Cemetery in 1875 at an initial cost of $38,922. They replaced an earlier vault that was used as temporary storage for bodies awaiting burial. In 1917 D.A. Bolen and Son designed an addition to the structure designed by D. A. Bohlen, the architectural firm's founder. The chapel and vaults were restored in the early 1970s at a cost of $120,000. CSO Architects began a major renovation and expansion in 2001. The project cost $3.2 million and received an excellence in Architecture Award from the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
, Indiana chapter, in 2007.Sanford, p. 18. * East gate, Waiting Station, and Porter's Lodge – Adolf Scherrer, an Indianapolis architect of Swiss origins, designed the High Victorian Gothic gateway and Waiting Station for the cemetery's main entrance at 34th Street and Boulevard Place. Construction began in May 1885. The three-arched gateway was completed in November 1885, in time for the funeral of
vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
and former Indiana governor Thomas A. Hendricks. The gate was built of Bedford
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. The Waiting Station exterior is brick and limestone. A gatehouse house that became known as Porter's Lodge at the gate's south side was designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of Vonnegut and Bohn and built in 1904. The Crown Hill board leased the Waiting Station to
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana Indiana Landmarks is a private non-governmental Cultural heritage, heritage preservation organization focused on the U.S. state of Indiana. It is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic L ...
in 1970 for one dollar per year, provided the preservation organization agreed to restore the historic structure. The restoration was completed by February 1971. HLFI moved to offices on Michigan Street in 1990 and the Waiting Station was leased until the mid-1990s, when Crown Hill began using it for office space. Crown Hill spent an additional $500,000 to restore the Waiting Station in the late 1990s. It was restored again in 2001 and serves as a meeting place for cemetery tours and programs.Sanford, p. 17. * Subway bridge/underpass – The underpass beneath 38th Street that connects the north and south grounds is also known as the Subway. Construction began in 1925 and was completed in 1927 at cost of $170,000. It was restored in the 1980s.Sanford, p. 19. * West gate and gatehouse – In 1901 the original west entrance to the cemetery was demolished and an arched Romanesque gate and a gatehouse designed by Indianapolis architect Herbert Foltz was erected at its southwest corner. The west gate was closed in 1965 and demolished the following year. * Masonry fence – In 1914 George Kessler designed a brick and wrought-iron fence to replace the cemetery's wood and wire fencing. The masonry fence surrounded three quarters of the south grounds and the southern end of the north grounds along 38th Street. It cost nearly $138,000. The fence has a thick concrete base, brick supports in height, and sections of wrought iron measuring in length that rest on brick support walls. Brick pillars at the entrances are more than tall. Construction of the fence, which is approximately long, was completed in 1920. A multi-year restoration costing $600,000 began in 1985.Wissing, pp. 124, 228. * Mausoleums – Crown Hill contains several family and communal
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
s: Community Mausoleum, designed by D. A. Bohlen and Company, was completed in the early 1950s. Its exterior is made of Indiana Bedford limestone; the interior is marble. Abbey Mausoleum, which was planned in 1993, is designed by Patrick L. Fly and cost $1.3 million. It is built of Indiana limestone and Carnelian granite. * Superintendent's residence – A home for the superintendent remained on cemetery grounds until 1950. D. A. Bohlen designed a three-story Victorian house to replace a log cabin structure in the late 1860s. Fire destroyed the Victorian residence in 1913, but a new three-story brick home was already under construction as its replacement. The brick residence was removed from Crown Hill in 1950. * Administrative offices – A building erected at 38th and Clarenden Streets in 1969 serves as Crown Hill's business offices. * Mortuary and crematorium – Groundbreaking for a $1.5 million mortuary took place in May 1992. Architect J. Stuart Todd drew up the plans. The funeral home opened on March 1, 1993. Gibralter Remembrance Services, LLC, who purchased the mortuary in 2006, built a 9,500 square foot expansion. A new crematorium was added in 1990.


Notable interments


Political and civil rights figures

*
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
, 23rd
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, along with his first wife, Caroline Harrison; his second wife, Mary Dimmick Harrison; his son Russell Benjamin Harrison; and his daughter Mary Harrison McKee. * Vice Presidents of the United States Charles W. Fairbanks, Thomas A. Hendricks, and Thomas R. Marshall.Sanford, p. 22. * Vice presidential nominees George Washington Julian, William Hayden English, and John W. Kern. * Indiana Governors Noah Noble, David Wallace, James Whitcomb, Abram A. Hammond, Oliver P. Morton, Thomas A. Hendricks, Albert G. Porter, Ira Joy Chase, Winfield T. Durbin, Thomas R. Marshall, and Robert D. Orr. * United States Senators Oliver H. Smith, Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin Harrison, Charles W. Fairbanks, Albert J. Beveridge, John W. Kern, Joseph E. McDonald, Thomas Taggart, David Turpie, Homer E. Capehart, Robert Hanna, and Harry S. New. * U.S. Representatives George W. Julian, General Ebenezer Dumont, Albert Porter, John H. Farquhar, Ralph Hill, Franklin Landers, Samuel M. Moores, William E. Niblack, and Julia Carson. * Mayors of Indianapolis including Caleb Scudder, James McCready, Henry F. West, Samuel D. Maxwell, John Caven, Daniel W. Grubbs, Caleb S. Denny, Thomas L. Sullivan, Thomas Taggart, Charles A. Bookwalter, John W. Holtzman, Samuel L. Shank, Joseph E. Bell, Charles W. Jewett, John L. Duvall, Claude E. Negley, Reginald H. Sullivan, Walter C. Boetcher, Robert Tyndall, George L. Denny, and Christian J. Emhardt.Sanford, p. 14. * Allen M. Fletcher,
Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...
* Addison C. Harris, U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (ambassador) to Austria-Hungary. * William Henry Harrison Miller, U.S. Attorney General. * William D. McCoy,
United States Ambassador to Liberia This is a record of ambassadors of the United States to Liberia. Liberia, as a nation, had its beginnings in 1821 when groups of free blacks from the United States emigrated from the U.S. and began establishing colonies on the coast under the ...
Sandford, p. 9 *
Meredith Nicholson Meredith Nicholson (December 9, 1866 – December 21, 1947) was a best-selling author from Indiana, United States, a politician, and a diplomat. Biography Nicholson was born on December 9, 1866, in Crawfordsville, Indiana, to Edward Willis Nic ...
, author and U.S. Minister to
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,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, and
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
Sanford, p. 4. * May Wright Sewall, women's rights advocate. * William S. Taylor,
Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...
* William F. Turner, first Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. * Henry Lane Wilson, Ambassador to
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and U.S. Minister to
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and to
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. * Zerelda G. Wallace, temperance advocate and suffragette, second wife of governor and congressman David Wallace,
Lew Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Walla ...
's stepmother, and sister-in-law of James Gatling. * Christopher T. Gonzalez, LGBT and AIDs activist, along with his life partner Jeff Werner.


Military figures

*
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
generals for the Union army: Thomas Armstrong Morris, Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, Jefferson C. Davis, Abel Streight, George Francis McGinnis, John Parker Hawkins, Robert Sanford Foster, John Coburn, Frederick Knefler, and George Henry Chapman. * The remains of 1,616 Confederate soldiers who died during their confinement at Camp Morton, a Union prison camp in Indianapolis. Their remains were transferred to Crown Hill in 1931. * Two British Commonwealth service personnel are buried in this cemetery, one from each World War: Captain Joseph Hammond of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, killed in 1918, and Warrant Officer Thomas Taggart Young,
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
, who died in 1942. * Charles W. Brouse, Congressional Medal of Honor recipientWissing, p. 63.Sanford, p. 5. * James H. Kasler, Korean and Vietnam War fighter pilot and POW; only recipient of three Air Force Crosses * John Swanson Congressional Medal of Honor recipient *
Roscoe Turner Roscoe Turner (September 29, 1895 – June 23, 1970) was a record-breaking American aviator who was a three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race and widely recognized by his flamboyant style and his pet, Gilmore the lion, Gilmore the L ...
, aviator, winner of a Distinguished Flying Cross, and transcontinental speed recordholder.


Sports figures

* James A. Allison, Frank Wheeler, Arthur Newby, and Carl Fisher, founders of the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...
. * Tony Bettenhausen Jr., auto racing driver and team owner. *
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
winners Floyd Davis, Louis Schneider,
Howdy Wilcox Howard Samuel "Howdy" Wilcox (June 24, 1889 – September 4, 1923) was an American racing driver active in the formative years of auto racing. He won the 1919 Indianapolis 500. Formative years and family Wilcox was born in Crawfordsville, In ...
*
Bob Jenkins Robert Francis Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling American open-wheel car racing, Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/American Broadcasting Company, ABC and ...
, voice of the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
1990–1998 * Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker, record setting automobile and motorcycle racer. * George Bignotti, Indianapolis 500 and American open-wheel racing team owner and mechanic. * William L. "Bill" Garrett, the first African American to play in the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
. * Jim Irsay, Football executive and owner of
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
. *
Robert Irsay Robert Irsay (March 5, 1923 – January 14, 1997) was an American professional football team owner. He owned the National Football League (NFL)'s Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise from 1972 until his death in 1997. He was the father of for ...
, former owner of the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
. * Frank McKinney, Olympic gold medalist in swimming, later president of
Bank One Bank One Corporation was an American bank founded in 1968 and at its peak the sixth-largest bank in the United States. It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONE. The company merged with JPMorgan Chase & Co. on July 1, ...
of Indiana and civic booster. * Toad Ramsey, Major League Baseball player from 1885 through 1890. * Stacey Toran, Football defensive back for the Los Angeles Raiders. * John Woodruff, Olympic gold medalist in track, 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.


Founders and inventors

* Lyman S. Ayres, founder of L. S. Ayres department stores. * Charles H. BlackSanford, pp. 9–10, 14.Wissing, pp. 103–04, 155. * Ovid Butler, founder of
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
. *
August Duesenberg August Samuel Duesenberg (December 12, 1879 – January 18, 1955) was a German-born American automobile and engine manufacturer who built American racing and racing engines that set speed records at Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1920; won the 1 ...
and Frederick S. Duesenberg, automotive industrialists * Frank P. Fox, Indianapolis 500 driver and owner of the Pope Motor Car Company * Howard Garns, inventor of
Sudoku Sudoku (; ; originally called Number Place) is a logic puzzle, logic-based, combinatorics, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and ...
* Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, best known for his invention of the
Gatling gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling of North Carolina. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operatio ...
. * John F. Geisse, founder of
Target Stores Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a retail chain, chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a co ...
, Venture Stores, and The Wholesale Club. * Colonel Eli Lilly, founder of
Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...
, and several of his descendants, including Josiah K. Lilly Sr., Josiah K. Lilly Jr.,
Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was a Union Army officer, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and recruited a company of men to ...
, and Ruth Lilly. * Daniel Marmon, Early Indianapolis-based automotive manufacturers and a principal of Nordyke Marmon and Company * Thomas A. Morris, Indiana railroad executive and civil engineer * David M. Parry, founder of the Parry Auto Company * Harry C. Stutz, Indianapolis-based automobile engineer and industrialist. * Hiram P. Wasson, founder of H. P. Wasson and Company department stores


Arts and media

* James Baskett, the first African American man to win an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
and best known for his role as
Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post–Reconstruction era Atlant ...
in Disney's ''
Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical comedy-drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson, produced by Walt Disney, and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pi ...
'' (1946). * Sarah T. Bolton, poet. * Jacob Cox, portrait and landscape painter. * Cecil Duane Crabb, ragtime composer.Wissing, p. 158. * William Forsyth, Hoosier Group artistWissing, pp. 106–07. * Richard Gruelle, Hoosier Group artist * John Wesley Hardrick, artist * Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard, cartoonist and humorist. * Etheridge Knight, poet. * Edward Dienhart Pierre, architect known for designing the Old Trails Building and the 1931 Indiana State Library. *
James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...
, poet, best known for his poem "
Little Orphant Annie "Little Orphant Annie" is an 1885 poem written by James Whitcomb Riley and published by the Bobbs-Merrill Company. First titled "The Elf Child", the name was changed by Riley to "Little Orphant Allie" at its third printing; however, a typesetting ...
" * Otto Stark, Hoosier Group artist *
Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...
, author and winner of two
Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
* Kurt Vonnegut, Sr., architect and father of scientist Bernard Vonnegut and author
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...


Other

* Francis Costigan, pioneer Indiana architect * John Dillinger, notorious bank robber in the 1930s. * G. T. Haywood, First Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. * Josephine R. Nichols (1838–1897), President, Indiana State
Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...
* Alexander Ralston, surveyor who designed the original plan of Indianapolis in 1821.Sanford, p. 23.


Fictional interment

In the 2012 book ''
The Fault in Our Stars ''The Fault in Our Stars'' is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar (play), Julius Caesar ...
'', as well as the 2014 film adaptation of the same name, the love interest Augustus Waters is buried at Crown Hill in a gravesite facing 38th Street.


Gallery

File:Benjamin Harrison grave 2.JPG,
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
's grave File:Crown Hill Confederates.JPG, Graves of Confederate prisoners of war who died at Camp Morton File:Indy Skyline Riley.JPG, Skyline of Indianapolis from Riley's grave File:James Whitecomb Riley grave closeup.JPG, Closeup of
James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...
's grave File:John Dillinger grave Crown Hill.jpg, John Dillinger's grave File:Oliver Morton grave.JPG, Oliver P. Morton's grave File:MarshallGrave.jpg, Thomas R. Marshall's grave File:Waiting Station at Crown Hill Cemetery.jpg, alt=, Waiting Station at Crown Hill Cemetery.jpg - April 2016


See also

* List of cemeteries in the United States * List of cemeteries in Indiana * List of burial places of presidents and vice presidents of the United States *
List of attractions and events in Indianapolis The following is a list of important sites of interest and annual events hosted in the city of Indianapolis. __NOTOC__ 0–9 * 500 Festival Mini-Marathon * 500 Festival Parade A * Athenæum (Das Deutsche Haus) B * Beef & Boards Dinner T ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Center Township, Marion County, Indiana __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Center Township, Marion County, Indiana. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Center ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * *


External links

*
Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
* * * * * Historic American Landscapes Survey documentation: ** ** {{Authority control Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Historic American Landscapes Survey in Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis Geography of Indianapolis Protected areas of Marion County, Indiana Tourist attractions in Indianapolis Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Rural cemeteries Tombs of presidents of the United States Service Corporation International 1863 establishments in Indiana Cemeteries established in the 1860s