Founding of Crown Hill
Crown Hill Cemetery is the nation’s third largest non-government cemetery, located 3.8 miles northwest of Monument Circle. Crown Hill was incorporated as a nonprofit, nondenominational cemetery on September 25, 1863, at a time when Greenlawn Cemetery was the principal burial ground in the city. Concern over Greenlawn’s limited acreage and lack of care spurred the creation of a 30-member Board of Corporators that established Crown Hill. Civil War dead caused Greenlawn to become full, so Crown Hill Cemetery was created because of and during the Civil War. The land selected for the cemetery was considered some of the most beautiful in Marion County. From 842-foot Crown Hill, so named because it was the “crowning hill among all hills in Marion County,” visitors encountered an extraordinary view of Indianapolis and the surrounding countryside.