Crown Hill Cemetery - History

History

Prior to the establishment of Crown Hill Cemetery, the primary cemetery in Indianapolis was the 25-acre (10 ha) Greenlawn Cemetery on the southwest side of the city. The demand placed on it by the normal demands of a growing city, along with the burials of both Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners of war resulting from the American Civil War prompted the creation of a private board in 1863 to develop a new and larger cemetery. The board bought a farm outside the city limits and hired John Chislett, who was a landscape architect and cemetery superintendent of Pittsburgh, to design the grounds. Chislett retained many of the natural features and laid out winding roads to create a landscape in the Victorian Romantic style.

Crown Hill Cemetery was dedicated on June 1, 1864. The first burial took place the next day, on June 2, for a young mother named Lucy Ann Seaton, who had 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."

Read more about this topic:  Crown Hill Cemetery

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    In front of these sinister facts, the first lesson of history is the good of evil. Good is a good doctor, but Bad is sometimes a better.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “And now this is the way in which the history of your former life has reached my ears!” As he said this he held out in his hand the fatal letter.
    Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)