Entry No. 6 — the Louisville file — filed under: cemetery

Eastern Cemetery

Abutting Cave Hill, this overgrown 1840s burial ground holds a dark local history of extreme grave recycling, where an estimated 138,000 bodies were stacked up to five deep in roughly 16,000 plots. Left unmaintained after a 1989 whistleblower scandal dissolved its management, the grounds are now kept accessible by volunteer preservationists.

The move: Take a quiet daytime walk past the crumbling 1891 Romanesque wake house to observe the chaotic, overlapping gravestones, then grab coffee up Baxter Avenue.

• 📍 Phoenix Hill / Highlands
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 641 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204

Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia · explorekyhistory.ky.gov

last checked: 2026-07-21