Lansing in Ingham County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery opened as Lansing's new city cemetery in June 1874 on what was formerly the John Miller Farm. Between 1874 and 1881 the city vacated the Lansing City Cemetery, located on the site of what would become Oak Park, and moved roughly one thousand graves to Mount Hope. Frederick W. Higgins, superintendent of Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery, planned the drives, and Henry Lee Bancroft, Lansing cemetery superintendent and director of parks and recreation from 1914 to 1957, developed the landscape over many years. The rolling terrain, curving drives, and variety and profusion of monuments reflect cemetery concepts of the mid-nineteenth century. A large obelisk, the city's Civil War soldier's monument was dedicated in 1878 on one of the highest points in the cemetery.
Mount Hope Cemetery contains the remains of some of the capital city's most prominent citizens, as well as some of the least privileged. Industrialists such as Ransom Eli Olds, pioneer botanist Dr. William J. Beal, and two-time Medal of Honor winner and surgeon Dr. George Ranney are buried here as well as state officials and university presidents. A section platted in 1874 for the State Reform School (later the Boys Vocational School) holds the remains of sixty-one boys who died between roughly 1860 and 1933. In addition the remains of Lieutenant Luther Baker, who led the effort to capture John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, are here, as well as those of Lucy Karney, a formerly enslaved African American who died in 1879 at the age of 117.
Erected 2009 by Michigan Historical Commission - Michigan Historical Center. (Marker Number L2211.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1874.
Location. 42° 42.701′ N, 84° 31.625′ W. Marker is in Lansing, Michigan, in Ingham County. Marker is at the intersection of Mt. Hope Road and Aurelius Road on Mt. Hope Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1709 E Mount Hope, Lansing MI 48910, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Civil War Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); Evergreen Cemetery Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.9 miles away); Post 9/11 Veterans Memorial (approx. one mile away); REO Motor Car Company / REO Clubhouse (approx. 1.3 miles away); REO Town Depot (approx. 1.3 miles away); Grand Trunk Depot (approx. 1.4 miles away); Church of the Resurrection / Monsignor John A. Gabriels (approx. 1½ miles away); Moores Park Pool (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lansing.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 21, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 23, 2017, by Bill Rieske of Lansing, Michigan. This page has been viewed 787 times since then and 116 times this year. Last updated on January 20, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 23, 2017, by Bill Rieske of Lansing, Michigan. 4. submitted on May 24, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.