Union Chapel Cemetery, located just east of Keystone Avenue at 84th Street, has served Broad Ripple and Northside Indianapolis families since its establishment in 1822. This historic and tranquil community cemetery is located on the upper banks of the White River.

Originally, in 1822, the Cemetery was located in the present South Section of Union Chapel Cemetery and was known as the Whitinger Family Cemetery. Later in the 1800s, Joseph Whitinger donated this cemetery ground to the community by means of a Land Grant on the basis that it would be used as a community cemetery and for "divine worship without denominational ties". A memorial has been erected on the original cemetery site to acknowledge that generous and pivotal gift.

Over the subsequent years, additional adjoining acreage has been purchased by the Cemetery, including a 13.37 acre area north of Union Chapel Road, now known as the "North Area" of the Cemetery. The Cemetery now occupies over 24 acres with nearly 11,000 burial sites. The names on many of the monuments in the cemetery are those of families who are linked closely to the development of Broad Ripple, such as the Coils, Mustards, Dawsons and Ellers.

In 1836, the Union Chapel Cemetery Association was formed to manage the Cemetery and, in 1901, the Association was incorporated. It is presently recognized as the Union Chapel Cemetery Association, Inc. and operates as a 501(C)(13) not-for-profit organization.

The Cemetery was designated as an Indiana Historic Cemetery in 2003 by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and, at that time, a plaque commemorating that designation was affixed to the northwest entry gate.

Union Chapel Cemetery is governed by a 12 member Board of Directors. These directors are unpaid volunteers who serve three year, staggered terms and whose backgrounds are chosen to provide the experience, talent and dedication required to support and manage the present and future needs of the Cemetery. Many of these directors have multiple generations of family members buried in Union Chapel Cemetery.

The Cemetery has just completed a program designed to further improve the beauty, ambiance, and operations of the Cemetery. This effort included:

• Construction of a new Caretaker House on the grounds
• Paving of the double-width drives in the North Section
• Addition of sidewalks and a Central Garden in North Section "I"
• Addition of a cremains scattering area and a related Memorial Monument in the Central Garden
• Planting of over 50 additional trees in the Cemetery
• Development and implementation of a computer-based Master Database containing information regarding gravesite information, sales and burials
• Development of computer-based maps of the Cemetery that depict detailed Section and gravesite locations
• Development of a custom financial computer program that provides timely and accurate financial records and instant visibility of the financial status of the Cemetery
• Development and implementation of a Union Chapel Cemetery web site (UnionChapelCemetery.com) to more widely share Cemetery information, including Cemetery history, contact information, gravesite location maps and a photographic tour of the Cemetery.
• Installation of a curvilinear wall at the corner of Haverstick and Union Chapel Roads with "Union Chapel Cemetery - Established 1822" signage.
• Installation of decorative brick, limestone and wrought-iron type fencing for the complete roadside frontages of both sections of the Cemetery.
• Implementation of a program to provide 39 Memorial Posts with cast bronze memorial plaques for use as prominent personal memorials.

For more information about this historic and active non-denominational community cemetery with thousands of available and reasonably priced gravesites, you are invited to visit the www.UnionChapelCemetery.com Web Site or contact the Union Chapel Cemetery office at (317) 252-5883.