Location is now McCulloch Park, bodies were supposed to be moved around 1859 to the new Lindenwood Cemetery. Only two gravestones are currently in the park although many bodies and burial locations remain unmarked and are occasionally uncovered when digging occurs. Read more below:
An early 19th century cemetery. Near 1701 Broadway, next to the former General Electric complex now under development as the Electric Works complex. May 5, 2021 a story appeared ‘Ancient’ human bones unearthed at Electric Works site published May 5, 2021 on CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15. An update later that day indicates the bones were found along the property line of Electric Works and are likely a part of the this early cemetery. Named McCulloch Park for Hugh McCulloch who was Secretary of the Treasurey under President Abraham Lincoln.
This old burying ground, in which lie the remains of many who were prominent in the early settlement of Fort Wayne, though but little more than a quater of a century in use, presents the most neglected and dilapidated appearance of any city of the dead it has ever been our lot to witness.1869 - The Old Cemetery - "city of the dead" Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Monday, May 24, 1869, Page 4
1869 - Resorts of Quacks - old cemetery South Broadway Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Tuesday, Jul 27, 1869, Page 4. References the condition of the old cemetery on South Broadway smeared over with advertisements of somebody's Relief Pill and somebody else's Bitters and many other such nostrums and infinitum. .. The fence no doubt needs a coat of paint, but it seems to us that it would look infinitely better if it were all of the same color.
Flood & Erosion Control posted March 22, 2021 by Friends of the Rivers on YouTube.
Around the 25 second mark of the video it discusses moving the bodies and headstones in the overcrowded Broadway Cemetery to Lindenwood Cemetery when it opened in 1859 while showing the 1847 Ewing tombstone and other headstones that were used to stablize the Saint Marys River bank for flood control near Jefferson Boulevard in Swinney Park.
Broadway Cemetery by the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, 1954, on Archive.org. Foreword states: The area now comprising McCulloch Park was once the Broadway Cemetery. Used as a burying ground from 1837 to 1885, the cemetery was then closed, and many of the remains were reburied in Lindenwood Cemtery. The small park, however, is still the final resting place of Samuel Bigger, seventh governor of Indiana. The following unsigned letter to the editor appeared in the Fort Wayne Journal on December 10, 1885, when it was first proposed that the Broadway Cemetery be abandoned. The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County present this pamphlet in the hope that it will prove interesting to readers. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation have been changed to conform to current usage. It is mentioned in the Lindenwood Cemetery ACPL book on page 44 of copy 2 and page 50 of copy 4.
Samuel Bigger, attorney, who had served as governor of Indiana, elected over General T. A. Howard, on a platform which declared for public improvements, became a resident of Fort Wayne in 1843. Former Governor Bigger died in 1846. His body was interred in the cemetery which is the McCulloch park of today. When the bodies were removed from this place to Lindenwood, Governor Bigger 's remains were left in the original grave. In 1877, Colonel R. S. Robertson made an unsuccessful attempt to secure legislative action to re-inter the body. The grave was covered with a slab of Dayton stone, 3 1/2 by 7 feet in size. A footstone at that time lay upon the ground near by. The headstone, which has since disappeared, was still standing. It bore the inscription, "Samuel Bigger, late Governor of the State, died September 9, 1846, in the forty-fifth year of his age. A Patriot and Christian, he died in the full hope of a glorious immortality."
GOVERNOR BIGGER AND HIS GRAVE IN MCULLOCH PARK. An unmarked, horizontal slab In an unfrequented portion of one of Fort Wayne's public recreation spots — McCulIoch park — marks the resting place of the mortal remains of former Governor Samuel Bigger. Bom in Warren county, Ohio, in 1802. Samuel Bigger received his education at Athens university and began his career as a lawyer at Lebanon, Ohio. He removed to Indiana and practiced law in Union and Rush counties. In 1834 he was elected a member of the legislature from the latter county, and at a later date became the president judge of the circuit court, a position he held until his election as governor of Indiana in 1840. He was a strong advocate of public improvements. Following his term in the governor's chair he removed to Fort Wayne and practiced law until his death in 1846. His remains were placed in the city cemetery and were not removed to Lindenwood at the time the cemetery was abandoned and converted into McCulIoch park.
In the month of May the timid residents of the town were kept in a state of excitement and anxiety by the rumor that strange cries were heard proceeding from the tomb of a prominent family in the Broadway cemetery, now McCulloch park. Thousands visited the burial place. When the sensation had reached its height the newspapers pleaded with the cool-headed citizens to assist in calming the more excitable among their number. "We would advise all to treat the whole thing as a delusion, cease their visits and assist in ridding the community of a sensation that has been instituted, perhaps, for the sole purpose of casting odium and disrespect upon a worthy family," says the Democrat. It has been stated that the agitation was the result of the activity of a practical .joker, who possessed powers of ventriloqiism. A sensational story involving well-known residents grew from a mere rumor to prominent proportions, but the tale was dispelled with the passage of time and the return of the truth. . . .
Early plat maps indicate two cemeteries; (1) The Public Cemetery and (2) the first burial site of Saint Johannes Lutheran Church. History books indicate many bodies were removed from the Public Site when Lindenwood Cemetery opened in 1860. The ACGSI website has a Broadway Cemetery page with plat maps and Sexton Invoices for some of the early burials.
For a long time the only body marked and thought to remain was Samuel Bigger the 7th Governor of Indiana, from 1840 to 1843. He died September 9, 1845 and his next of kin could not be contacted for permission to move his body. See our Samuel Bigger People section.
The Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution participated in a ceremony Monday, June 27, 2016 at McCulloch Park to honor William Polke one of Indiana's Founders. William was a delegate to the Indiana state constitutional convention that led to Indiana becoming a state in 1816. William was also recognized for his many other contributions to the state throughout his life. This ceremony is just one of many ceremonies being conducted around the state as part of Indiana's Bicentennial celebration
In 2016, State Archivist Jim Corridan confirmed William Polke, born in 1775 Virginia, died in 1843 Fort Wayne, one of 43 men who wrote the Indiana State Constitution in 1816, remains are also buried here, even though other remains were moved in 1860. A public memorial event for the Indiana Bicentennial on June 27, 2016 had a keynote address by Indiana Senate President Pro-Term David Long honoring his service founding Indiana.
Bicentennial salute for early bigwig was published June 13, 2016 and Early Hoosier pioneer buried in city honored June 28, 2016 in The Journal Gazette newspaper is now on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
State Archivist Jim Corridan has helped to solve a 172 year old mystery! Read a copy of the article by Allen County historian Tom Castaldi, originally published in the Fort Wayne Magazine, about William Polke and the search for his grave here.
Several mausoleum stones were put into the river to shore up the bank after they were demolished when bodies were moved from what is now McCulloch Park to the then newly opened Lindenwood Cemetery, according to Sweet Breeze canal boat tour guide Dan Wire. Copied from Canal boat offers up-close view of pre-developed riverfront by Lisa Esquivel Long published July 23, 2017 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
This past week WANE 15 reported human remains well over 100 years old were discovered near the Electric Works construction site. They were discovered at the far north end of McCulloch Park, near an entrance to the campus. While there are some unknowns, there is no doubt that what is now known as McCulloch Park was once a cemetery.
In 1837, Hugh McCulloch purchased four acres of land from Judge Hanna for the purpose of building a public burial ground. Until 1860, this served as a public cemetery in Fort Wayne. That same year, Lindenwood Cemetery was formed. McCulloch was an American financier who played a central role in financing the American Civil War. He served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary under three presidents (Lincoln, Johnson, and Arthur).
In 1860, the bodies were moved to Lindenwood Cemetery. With little use for the land, McCulloch donated it to the City of Fort Wayne in 1886 for the purpose of turning it into a park. The park still contains the memorial grave site of Indiana's seventh governor, Samuel Bigger. Governor Bigger remains in his original resting place because he had no family to authorize a reburial. The headstone was removed and the gravesite of the former governor was forgotten until many years later.
Picture #1 – 1898 photo of McCulloch Park fountain
Picture #2 – 1924 photo of dedication of the Samuel Bigger gravesite
