Entry No. 10 — the Wichita file — filed under: outdoor
Highland Cemetery (Wichita's abandoned pioneer cemetery)
Wichita's oldest cemetery (est. 1870) was abandoned by its cemetery company in 1982 and is the city's most vandalized burial ground — a 25-acre field of toppled pioneer markers and unmarked graves. The original 'Buffalo Bill,' Col. William Mathewson, lies here under an ornate monument, and a nonprofit is still hunting for the lost graves of the city's founders.
The move: Go at golden hour and play amateur historian: hunt down Mathewson's monument and the half-sunken pioneer stones, then read each other the names off markers nobody else visits anymore.
📍 Before you go Find it on Hillside Ave near 9th Street, in the Hillside/Midtown pocket just north of College Hill. "Abandoned" is half the story: the original cemetery company walked away, but the City of Wichita's parks crews keep the grounds now, so it's publicly accessible — just drive in off Hillside and park along the interior drives. Come in daylight; it's unlit, the footing is rough, and toppled or half-sunken stones hide in the grass, so wear sturdy shoes and watch your step. Spring and fall are easiest; tall summer grass can swallow the lowest markers. Treat it as the working burial ground it still is — descendants and local historians visit — and pair it with a stroll or coffee in walkable College Hill just south.
- 📍 Hillside / Midtown (just north of College Hill)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1005 N Hillside Ave, Wichita, KS 67214
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: midwesterndeathtrip.com · kwch.com
last checked: 2026-06-06