Historic Topeka Cemetery

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Topeka Cemetery is the oldest chartered cemetery in Kansas, dating to 1859. The resting place of an American vice­ president, five governors, as well as countless soldiers, inventors, businessmen and pioneers, there is hardly a more historic site in the state.

Its Mausoleum Row was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The rest of the cemetery was added to the Register in 2017.

Its location, on a rolling hillside just east of downtown Topeka, provides a picturesque setting and a lovely vantage point to view the capital’s skyline. We encourage you to visit, to take a stroll among monuments bearing names familiar to you from street signs and businesses, and to reflect on the beauty of this spot and the lives of those who came before you.

Historic Topeka Cemetery is a setting unlike any other in Topeka. The grounds offer an eternal view for those who shaped Topeka and Kansas from territorial days into the 21st century. The city skyline, with the Statehouse standing prominently in the center, can be seen from nearly every part of Topeka Cemetery.

Over its 160 years, Topeka Cemetery has become the final resting place of more than 35,000 souls, including many founders of the city and state, those forward thinkers who worked to make Topeka the state capital, who built a university, who brought prosperity to the plains with railroads and manufacturing. Their descendants have taken those legacies and continue to work to make Topeka prosper.

For guided tours, please contact the office. Due to the size of the roads, please visit in a vehicle that is no larger than a school bus. If you email the office your mailing address, staff will send a guidebook of the cemetery.

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