Established in 1859, it is the oldest chartered cemetery in the state of Kansas.

[citation needed] The 80-acre cemetery had more than 35,000 burials by 2019, including several prominent Kansans.

Among them is Charles Curtis, 31st vice president of the United States under Herbert Hoover, the only person of Native descent to ever serve in the Executive Branch.

The National Register Listing was enlarged in 2017 to include the entire cemetery.

In the cemetery's Grand Army of the Republic section stand a granite statue of a soldier, a tribute to the Topekans who died in the Battle of the Blue.