Indiana Cemeteries: Mount Hope

This past weekend, I visited Mount Hope Cemetery in Logansport, Indiana. The city is named for James Renick-Logan (“Captain Logan”), a scout (of debated background) who served under William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812. When it was incorporated in 1838, they chose the name Logan’s Port as the city was a port on the Wabash Erie Canal. The city’s slogan, “Where two rivers meet” speaks to the junction of the Eel and Wabash Rivers. Along with river transportation, the historic Michigan Road and several freight train routes run through Logansport

Logansport is home to a Dentzel Carousel, a national historic landmark. I remember riding the carousel as a young child, lifting my arm high to grab a brass ring. During this visit, I would not be grabbing brass rings, but visiting a (supposedly) haunted cemetery.

About the Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery is reportedly the third largest cemetery in Indiana with 200 acres. The cemetery came into existence in 1854, but also includes the 9th Street Cemetery which started in 1828.

I learned something very cool about this cemetery, but I’ll talk about that more in my next post!

About The Haunting

According to very casual internet research, this cemetery may be haunted. Paranormal activity includes:

• the sound of galloping horses
• the sound of cannon fire (there are canons next to the war memorial, see above)
• the sound of whistles (especially in response to your own whistling)
• inscriptions in/on the mausoleums which read “Knock three times and they shall come.”

I did not witness anything (whomp whomp).

Cemetery Highlights

I wrap up this post with some photographic highlights from my visit. First, I was intrigued by this gate memorial. “In Christian funerary symbolism,” Douglas Keister writes in Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography, “gates represent the passage from one realm to the next” (116). I love how the gate appears to be opening, welcoming William B. Lanchester to heaven.

There were a number of treestones (see bottom right of picture below), but I unfortunately was enjoying them too much to get photos. I guess I will have to make another visit (no complaints here). Popular to the Midwest, treestones (or tree stumps) were very popular from the 1880s to about 1905 (Kiester 65). According to Kiester:

Where one treestone is seen, often many will be found, suggesting that their popularity may have been tied to particularly aggressive monument dealer in the area or a ready local supply of limestone, which was the carving material of choice. Treestones could also be ordered from Sears and Roebuck. (65)

While I’m not sure the reasoning for the treestones of Mount Hope, I did find that piece of history very interesting!

I couldn’t help but notice this large and deep columbarium.

The cemetery also had a number of beautiful mausoleums. I loved the beautiful gates!

Thanks for coming along on my tour. Cannot wait to share more after my second visit.

Sources

City of Logansport Cemetery website

Johnston, Courtney. “These 8 Haunted Cemeteries in Indiana Are Not For the Faint of Heart.” Only in Your State, 20 July 2016. 

Keister, Douglas. Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography. Gibbs Smith, 2004.

Logansport – Cass County Chamber of Commerce website 

“Logansport, Indiana.” Wikipedia 

“Mount Hope Cemetery.” Hauntedplaces.org