Old News: Crown Hill National Cemetery opens

Driving the (old) news: The national cemetery — located within the larger, private Crown Hill Cemetery — was created out of necessity.

• Union soldiers who died while stationed near Indianapolis and at local hospitals were originally buried at Greenlawn, but the city cemetery was filling up fast.
• Space and maintenance concerns prompted Gov. Oliver P. Morton to push for a national cemetery in Indianapolis. Crown Hill, which was incorporated just two years prior, was the perfect spot.
• 712 Union soldiers were transferred from Greenlawn to Crown Hill National, including 217 United States Colored Troop soldiers.

Zoom in: Originally confined to Section 10 of Crown Hill behind the Gothic Chapel, the national cemetery has expanded to include Section 9 and provide space to those killed in other conflicts.

• Sections 9 and 10 cover approximately 2.67 acres and hold the remains of 2,097 veterans and their dependents, according to Crown Hill officials.
• The final burial at Crown Hill National was for Vietnam War Air Force pilot Maj. Robert W. Hayes in 1969.
• Crown Hill Cemetery, including the national cemetery tract, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.