Friends of Historic Topeka Cemetery

When Topeka’s founders were setting up the city, the future was foremost in their minds: How to make the area inviting to attract residents and increase commerce.

A cemetery is a necessary component of any town, and Topeka’s founders knew they wanted a special place. They created Topeka’s first park, really – 40 acres of green space in the Garden Cemetery style, with plenty of room for the beautiful artwork of monuments.

In the 160 years since, more than 35,000 people have chosen Historic Topeka Cemetery as their final resting place. Generations of families are memorialized on the grounds that have grown to 80 acres.

They include Vice President Charles Curtis. Also here is Cyrus Holliday, who founded the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, which for decades was the city’s largest employer. Thousands of Santa Fe employees are here, too, from mechanics to general managers. Governors and mayors share ground with bricklayers and milliners. Batman is here – the candy maker, that is. So is Jesse Warren, who owned the last car the notorious gangsters Bonnie and Clyde ever drove – they stole the car from his house while passing through Topeka.

The years have taken their toll, though. Competition from new cemeteries meant fewer customers. Growth on the other side of town drew more families away.

But the legacies endure, and Topeka Cemetery is still sharing the stories that inspire every new generation to build on what the city’s founders created.

In order to continue this mission, Topeka Cemetery needs a permanent endowment to ensure its upkeep and maintain this beautiful green space in East Topeka. To that end, this effort is designed to raise fund and hire a professional fund-raiser to create that endowment. The heirs to Topeka Cemetery’s legacies are scattered across the nation. We have identified two billionaires whose great-grandparents made their marks here in Topeka. Thousands of others have a similar stake in caring for these sacred grounds, but the right kind of expertise is needed to find them.

Please help us plant the seeds that will grow into as strong a future for Topeka Cemetery as its past has been.