Al is working on a major project. It first appeared in July 2009.
Indianapolis is home to the third largest cemetery in the United States, Crown Hill Cemetery. Located in the heart of the city, Crown Hill occupies 555 acres, contains over 25 miles of paved roads, features over 150 different species of trees and plants and is home to over 195,000 cherished remains of departed Hoosiers. Dedicated at the height of the Civil War on the first day of June 1864, the cemetery services nearly 1,500 burials per year and is situated on the highest point in the county offering a 360 degree panoramic view of Indiana’s Capitol City. Crown Hill is unique among famous American burial grounds in that it is the final resting place of Hoosiers from all walks of life including Indiana’s rich and famous to the states’ unknown poor and infamous.
The list of notables interred within the Crown Hill gates include President Benjamin Harrison, Poet James Whitcomb Riley, Colonel Eli Lilly, Colts owner Robert Irsay, 3 Vice Presidents, 11 Indiana Governors, 14 U.S. Senators, 25 Indiana Mayors, 16 Civil War Generals and over 1600 Confederate P.O.W.s that died in the notorious Union Prisoner of War prison Camp Morton during the Civil War. However its most famous “resident” is former Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger. Located in section 44, lot 94 just a short distance from the Crown Hill’s distinctive Gothic gate and just a few hundred feet from Indianapolis’ busy 38th street, Dillinger’s grave is the most visited in the cemetery.
Director Keith Norwalk estimates that Crown Hill hands out as many as 100 maps to Dillinger’s grave per weekend hosting visitors from as far away as the Philippines, Europe and Canada. “Just last week, a young man flew in from Georgia specifically to see the Dillinger grave.” says Norwalk. The release of the Johnny Depp film “Public Enemies” has helped increase the visibility of the Hoosier bad man’s final resting place. Norwalk has been with Crown Hill for 20 years and can see a demographic change in the visitors to Crown Hill over the last decade or so. He believes that current generations were beginning to forget about Dillinger and the gangster era until the release of the movie earlier this month.
The beauty of the solemn oasis located within the hustle and bustle of the city has made it a popular tourist destination and picnic spot for generations of Hoosiers. So popular are the treks made to pay respects to the notables of Indiana that Crown Hill has developed a series of tours to accommodate these curious visitors.
Davis is well versed in the history of Crown Hill and its residents. When I visited the cemetery to speak with Davis, he walked freely among the stones pointing out many noteworthy graves including some of my Irvington heroes buried here such as artist William Forsyth, Butler College namesake Ovid Butler and school namesake Thomas Carr Howe and Congressman George W. Julian as well as the subjects of past columns Nellie Meier (Tuckaways’ palm reader to the stars), Greenfields’ George Knox, and Oscar winner James Baskett . The visit culminated in the visit to the Dillinger plot. Davis pointed out the stones of the outlaw and his father noting that this is at least the third John Dillinger headstone. Tour guide Davis recalled how the first stone was destroyed by souvenir seekers that gradually chipped it away to an almost unrecognizable lump, the second stone was stolen by the “Outlaw” motorcycle gang and recovered in their Indianapolis clubhouse and this third stone that is securely attached to the ground with concrete.
During the 10 minutes that we were at the gravesite, I counted 12 people visiting the site; keep in mind that this was in the middle of a workday. Davis gladly shared information with the visitors while we casually explored the plot, pointing to the spot behind the headstones containing the unmarked graves of 2 Dillinger children and gesturing to a spot some 200 yards west where John Dillinger’s sister Audrey is buried. Dillinger’s father had purchased the plot nearly a decade before the outlaw’s death when John’s mother died while he was just a youngster. Davis recalls how Dillinger, Sr. showed up the day after the funeral and ordered his son’s casket uncovered and the hole filled in with concrete, scrap iron and chicken wire to discourage grave robbers.
The Dillinger headstone is quite routinely covered with pocket change left by graveside visitors. Davis wryly stated that “we return that money to the banks” and waited to see my amused reaction before correcting himself to confess that the money is regularly turned over to Riley Children’s hospital. It’s ironic to note that 75 years after he was gunned down in a cold Chicago alleyway for stealing vast amounts of money from Midwestern banks, John Dillinger is helping to raise modest sums of cash to help sick children in the city of his birth.
Over the past decade and a half, Tom Davis has spoken to many visitors to the Dillinger grave who’ve claimed a connection to the famous Hoosier outlaw. Neighbors, classmates, family members and even one woman about 10 years ago who appeared to be in her mid eighties who was visiting the gravesite to see her former boyfriend “Johnnie.”
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest books are “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View,” “Irvington Haunts. The Tour Guide,” and “The Mystery of the H.H. Holmes Collection.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
