Crown Hill's story starts with the story of Indianapolis itself. When Indiana became a state in 1816, there was no Indianapolis. The state capital, Corydon, was far south, and the state's leaders soon came up with a plan to move the capital city nearer the center of the state. The site of Indianapolis was picked in 1820, although at the time only about fifteen families lived here.

A capital city needs a capital plan, and the state appointed Alexander Ralston to lay out the streets for a mile square city. People began moving here, five hundred by the end of 1821. So Ralston reserved five acres in the southwest corner of his plan to be used as the city cemetery.

By the 1860s, despite growing to 25 acres, this area was no longer large enough for the needs of a growing city, especially with the added deaths brought about by the Civil War. On September 12, 1863, the city leaders met and began plans for a new, much larger cemetery to be established outside the city limits. John Chislett, a cemetery superintendent from Pittsburgh, was brought to town to help them. They took him to several possible sites, but when he saw the farm of Martin Williams, a common picnic site for the townspeople, he told the men to Buy those grounds at whatever price you have to pay.

With a bank loan of $51,500, the city leaders purchased 240 acres and Mr.. Chislett's son, Frederick, moved into the Williams' cabin to begin the work of getting the land ready to become a cemetery.

On June 1, 1864, a dedication ceremony was held on the gentle slope west of where the Gothic Chapel now stands. The first burial took place the very next day. Through the years, Crown Hill grew to its present size of 555 acres, making it the 3rd largest non-government cemetery in the country. Even with its almost 1500 burials a year, it is estimated that it will be several centuries before it runs out of space. Therefore, even though it is already a designated National Historic Place, it is very possible that the most famous person who will ever be buried here has not even been born yet.

But those who are already at rest at Crown Hill include one U.S. president, three vice presidents, ten Indiana governors, one Kentucky governor, fourteen U.S. senators, fourteen Indianapolis mayors, sixteen Civil War generals, congressmen, cabinet members, famous people of business and the arts, a notorious bank robber, a professional football team owner, athletes, and over 185,000 others who are actually the most important people buried here to those who knew and loved them.

Suggested Activities

1) Have the students talk about what life was like in the 1864 when Crown Hill was dedicated. What important events were occurring? What events, inventions, and discoveries did the people now buried here witness during their lives?

2) Ask the students if any of their relatives or ancestors are buried at Crown Hill. This is not unusual, especially in groups from Indianapolis.