Olathe Cemetery - Olathe, Kansas - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The 26-acre Olathe Cemetery is roughly rectangular in plan. What began as a ten-acre burial ground in 1865 increased through three additions to gain its current form by ca. 1956. The size increases resulted in two distinct, historic design patterns seen today. The original (northern) portion of the cemetery follows a more streamlined appearance with burials grouped in blocks within sections. This original portion of the cemetery is laid out in four rectangular sections of varying sizes and topped with a practically semicircular section. The first addition, constructed in 1879, consists of four rectangular sections similar to the original cemetery. Both portions feature straight pedestrian pathways that border gravestones arranged north-south in blocks. The southern portion, or second addition, was designed with semi-circular patterns, thus stones in this section are arranged in curves around the half circles. Pathways in this section also are arranged in semi-circular patterns. Numerous plantings of trees and bushes characterize the cemetery grounds. Varieties include native maple and even more rare trees such as Chinese Fringe and Dawn Redwood.

There are two entrances to the cemetery; one entrance is through the gate at North Chestnut Street and another entrance is located on North Woodland Road (Photos 18 & 19). The dates of the cemetery entrances are unknown, but it is likely the North Woodland Road entrance was created ca. 1880 during the first cemetery addition and the entrance at North Chestnut was added ca. 1890 during the second cemetery addition. The gateposts at the North Chestnut entrance originally were limestone. In ca. 1980, brick posts were installed and replaced the original limestone gateposts. A metal fence currently surrounds the entire property.

The city-owned cemetery contains approximately 10,592 graves. Primarily granite and marble, gravestones range from simple tablet and raised-top inscription types to pulpit and more elaborate obelisk types. There are several groups buried in the Olathe Cemetery. An area in the northeast portion of the cemetery known as Potter’s Field contains graves of some of the earliest settlers in Olathe. The Baby’s Circle, established in the 1950s, is located at the southern boundary. The Civil War Circle includes burials of soldiers who fought in the War Between States, while the World War I Circle includes World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans (Photos 10 & 14). The cemetery also features a governors section, and a section that includes late employees of Hyer Boot Company.