FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Cemeteries across America often have unique features to them and many include things the public may not know about.

One cemetery in Fort Wayne is one of the oldest cemeteries in the region where many soldiers who fought in the Civil War are buried. Lindenwood Cemetery on West Main Street has been a final resting place for people, especially military veterans since 1860. The front entrance to the cemetery contains six flagpoles to honor all the U.S. military branches.

Sitting on 175 acres of land, Lindenwood contains more than 72,000 interments and is one of the largest cemeteries in Indiana. During the Civil War, the Union Army consisted of about 2.8 million troops and about 4,000 of them were from Allen County. The vast majority of those soldiers from Allen County are buried at Lindenwood said Tom Pehlke, former general manager of Lindenwood.

  • Lindenwood Cemetery includes a “Praying Hands” memorial in the Garden of Prayer section. The sculpture is eight feet tall.
  • Lindenwood Cemetery includes monuments for notable figures including civil war veterans.

“We have thousands of veterans buried here going all the way back to the civil war,” Pehlke said.

People like Colonel Sion Bass, who served in the 30th Indiana Regiment of the Union Army, are buried at the cemetery. Bass was wounded in 1862 during the Battle of Shiloh and died seven days later. Captain John Godown served with the 12th Indiana Regiment, fighting in 28 battles during the Civil War and is buried at Lindenwood as well.

The cemetery contains the burial grounds of many veterans as a way to honor them for their service.

Throughout the year, Lindenwood hosts events where they bring in Civil War groups and they even host war reenactments at the cemetery.

“When we bring in the Civil War groups, they do marches here for funeral services,” he said.

Memorial Day is the time of the year where Lindenwood attracts people from all over. He said they typically get more than 10,000 visitors throughout the entire week leading up to Memorial Day.

Another interesting thing about Lindenwood is that it’s also the burial ground for Fort Wayne’s founding fathers like Allen Hamilton.

“All of Fort Wayne’s founding fathers are buried here,” he said.

Lindenwood Cemetery is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.