National Cemetery Administration

Visitation Hours: Open daily from dawn to dusk.

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.

Crown Hill Columbarium Annex has space available for cremated remains.

Crown Hill National Cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Periodically however, burial space may become available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed. When either of these two scenarios occurs, the gravesite is made available to another eligible veteran on a first-come, first-served basis. Since there is no way to know in advance when a gravesite may become available, please contact the cemetery at the time of need to inquire whether space is available.

Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.

Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.

» Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery

Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.

For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.

Crown Hill National Cemetery is divided into two separate parcels of land.

Crown Hill Columbarium Annex is located at:
725 W 42nd St
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

Crown Hill Columbarium Annex is a new 15-acre Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) national cemetery. This cemetery will serve the needs of more than 250,000 Veterans and eligible family members within a 75-mile radius for the next 100 years. The columbarium will only accommodate above-ground burial of cremated remains; Veterans and eligible dependents desiring in-ground burial of casketed or cremated remains may opt for the nearest open VA national cemetery, which is Marion National Cemetery approximately 75 miles away. This cemetery is under the supervision of Dayton National Cemetery.

Crown Hill National Cemetery is located in the middle of the private Crown Hill cemetery at:
700 W 38th St
Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

The historic national cemetery, opened in 1866, has been closed to new interments since 1959.

For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.

Crown Hill Columbarium Annex
Natural, fresh-cut flowers may be placed at the columbarium any time of the year and will be removed when they become withered or unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations. Plastic floral cones are available for use and are located in containers throughout the cemetery.

Artificial flowers are permitted at the columbarium from October 10th through April 15th. Christmas decorations are permitted during the Christmas season beginning December 1st and will be removed after January 20th each year.

One small American flag may be placed at the base of the columbarium and will be removed when it is damaged, faded, or tattered. At no time shall any object be attached to a niche cover. Place all flowers, wreaths, etc., at the base of the columbarium beneath the niches.

Crown Hill National Cemetery
Artificial flowers are permitted on graves only from October 10th through April 15th. Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 1st through January 20th.

One small American flag may be placed on the grave and will be removed when it is damaged, faded or tattered.

At no time shall any object be attached to a grave marker, protrude above the top of an upright headstone, or encroach on an adjacent grave.

The following items are prohibited for placement at a gravesite, columbarium, or memorial wall and are subject to removal by cemetery staff:

• Alcoholic products or other similar items
• Balloons, pinwheels, wind chimes, lights, candles, statues, stuffed animals, or other similar items
• Decorative and breakable glass or plastic items such as: vigil lights, glass vases or decorative glass
• Non-government supplied floral containers (pots, planters, vases, etc.)
• Any objects that could become projectiles when caught in grounds maintenance equipment (such as rocks, coins, or other small durable objects)
• Offensive items or those deemed inconsistent with the cemetery setting
• Permanent in-ground plantings
• Weapons of any kind, explosives, or ammunition
• Any object attached to headstones, markers, or niche covers

Using permanent markers or paint on headstones or niches is always strictly prohibited.

Cemetery personnel will inspect each grave for unsightly or unauthorized items on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Durable items removed from graves will be held for one month. These items remain property of the donor but are under custodianship of the cemetery. If not claimed within 30 days, they are governed by rules for disposal of federal property.

On July 1, 2022, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) opened a new 15-acre national cemetery at Crown Hill Columbarium Annex.

Crown Hill National Cemetery is located 2.8 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, Ind., within the private Crown Hill Cemetery. During the Civil War, Union soldiers who died while stationed at the various camps near Indianapolis and at local hospitals were originally buried at nearby Green Lawn Cemetery. However, concern over the limited acreage and poor maintenance of these facilities led the governor to request a national cemetery for the city. The Federal government purchased lots within the new Crown Hill Cemetery (established in 1863) and in 1866, the remains buried at Green Lawn were reinterred at Crown Hill in a ceremony attended by James A. Ekin, the deputy quartermaster general. Today, the private Crown Hill is notable as the third-largest non-government cemetery in America.

In addition to the Union soldiers, Confederate prisoners were buried at Crown Hill National Cemetery. During the Civil War there were typically more than 3,500 Confederates held prisoner at Camp Morton on the north side of Indianapolis. Originally, the principle mustering, recruiting, and encampment site for many Hoosier regiments. After the fall of Forts Donelson and Henry in early 1862, thousands of captured Confederates were sent north to POW camps such as Camp Morton (others included Camp Butler in Springfield, Ill.; Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio; and Camp Douglas in Chicago). About 15,000 prisoners occupied Camp Morton between 1862 and 1865. Typical of most prison facilities at that time, Camp Morton was unprepared for the large influx of prisoners. Medical care, food, and sanitary conditions were inadequate. Between 1862 and 1865, more than 1,700 Confederate deaths at Camp Morton resulted. Still, the death rates at Camp Morton were lower than most Northern prisons.

After it became the city's responsibility to find an acceptable burial ground for the Southern dead, a section of the Green Lawn cemetery was turned over to the government for burials. After the war, this land was sold to the railroad, and the remains removed to a mass grave in Section 32 of Crown Hill Cemetery. In 1989, two Indianapolis police officers initiated an effort to mark the graves of the Confederate POWs; other groups and individuals joined in, and in 1993 the new Confederate Memorial was dedicated. Crown Hill National Cemetery, including the national cemetery tract, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Monuments and Memorials
The Women's Relief Corps No. 44, auxiliary to Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post 369, Department of Indiana, erected a limestone monument here to the unknown dead. Carved by Indianapolis stonecutter James F. Needler with an eagle, draped flag, and cannon, its dedication was a special addition to the usual Memorial Day program in 1889.