Crown Hill Cemetery

There is also a locality Crown Hill, Seattle, Washington.

Crown Hill National Cemetery is contained within Crown Hill Cemetery.

Crown Hill Cemetery, located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, is the third largest cemetery in the United States at 555 acres (2.2 km²). It contains 25 miles (40 km) of paved road, over 150 species of trees and plants, over 185,000 graves, and services roughly 1,500 burials per year. It sits on the highest geographic point in Indianapolis.

History

Crown Hill Cemetery was dedicated on 1 June, 1864 both to provide for the large number of American Civil War soldiers from Indiana who had died in the war as well as to provide for the crowding problems in the small 25 acre (101,000 m²) cemetery for the growing city of Indianapolis. The first burial took place the next day on June 2, 1864 for a young mother named Lucy Ann Seaton, who died of consumption. Previously a private farm outside the city limits, Crown Hill Cemetery is a popular picnic location and today is well known for the stunning view of downtown Indianapolis from "The Crown."

Famous graves

James Whitcomb Riley, a famous Hoosier poet best known for his poem "Little Orphant Annie", was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery at the highest natural point in the city, which was also known as Strawberry Hill.

Many other famous people are buried at Crown Hill cemetery, including:

• Lyman S. Ayres, founder of L. S. Ayres department stores
• James Baskett, from Disney's Song of the South
• Ovid Butler, founder of Butler University
• Julia Carson, former United States Congresswomen of Indiana from the 7th district
• John Dillinger, a notorious bank robber
• Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling, inventor of the Gatling gun
• Benjamin Harrison, a former President of the United States
• Caroline Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harrison
• Colonel Eli Lilly, founder of Eli Lilly and Company, as well as several of his descendants, including Josiah K. Lilly Sr., Josiah K. Lilly Jr., and Eli Lilly
• Mary Dimmick Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harrison
• Mary Harrison McKee, daughter of Benjamin Harrison
• Oliver Morton, the famed "War Governor" during the Civil War.
• Robert Irsay, former owner of the Indianapolis Colts
• Alexander Ralston, surveyor who platted Indianapolis in 1821, including the cemetery which Crown Hill eventually replaced
• three Vice Presidents of the United States, Charles W. Fairbanks, Thomas A. Hendricks and Thomas R. Marshall, and vice-presidential nominee George Washington Julian
• eleven Indiana Governors
• one Kentucky Governor
• fourteen United States Senators
• fourteen Indianapolis Mayors
• sixteen American Civil War generals, including Union brigadier general Jefferson C. Davis
• G T Haywood, First Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.
• Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, record-setting motorcycle racer
• John Woodruff, Olympic Medalist

Also, 1,616 Confederate victims of the Union prison camp, Camp Morton, were transferred to Crown Hill in 1931.^[2]

Nature

Crown Hill Cemetery is the largest refuge for animals in the city, including an estimated 300+ white-tailed deer. There are also numerous species of trees, each of which is marked with a number that corresponds to its scientific name and its common name.

See also

• List of United States cemeteries
• Location of Crown Hill Cemetary in Indianapolis - Wikimapia.org

References

1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
2. ^ Conn, Earl L. My Indiana:101 Places to See (Indiana Historical Society Press, 2006). pg.81

External links

• Official website of Crown Hill cemetery