Entry No. 13 — the Minneapolis file — filed under: haunted
Beltrami Park
Once a 19th-century potter's field called Maple Hill Cemetery, this neighborhood park still has an estimated 3,700 bodies buried beneath its playground and bocce courts after a botched relocation effort in the late 1800s.
The story
At first glance, Beltrami Park looks like any sunny Northeast Minneapolis block—kids on the playground equipment, neighbors playing bocce, picnic tables under mature trees. But you're walking on top of roughly 3,700 dead bodies. Long before it was converted into parkland, this plot was Maple Hill Cemetery, a 19th-century burial ground and potter's field where early Minneapolis settlers, working-class locals, and Civil War veterans were laid to rest.
In 1894, the Minneapolis City Council condemned the land with plans to redevelop it into a public park. Relatives were given notice to exhume and move their deceased loved ones to other cemeteries, but many families had moved away, lacked the funds, or simply never got word. Rather than properly exhuming the remaining graves, the city eventually cleared or destroyed most headstones, hauled in sod, and built a recreational park directly over the unclaimed dead.
The botched relocation left behind one of the city's strange open secrets. If you step off the paths and scan the grass carefully, you can still find a handful of weathered 19th-century gravestones half-sunk in the turf—including the headstone of Louis LeDuc. Next time you roll a bocce ball here, remember that you're playing on top of an overcrowded, forgotten cemetery.
What it's like
Head to 1111 Summer St NE on a quiet afternoon and you'll find a standard neighborhood park scene. The trick is to step away from the bocce courts and playground and scan the lawn near the tree line for low, weathered stone markers poking out of the turf. It's a surreal place to hang out once you realize what lies five feet under your sneakers, but the vibe remains laid-back and distinctly local.
The move: Stroll through the park to find the few remaining, weathered 19th-century gravestones (like Louis LeDuc’s tombstone) hidden in the grass, then play a round of bocce ball on the courts built directly over the forgotten graves.
- 📍 Northeast Minneapolis
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1111 Summer St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Twelve Vultures — Pair a quiet walk over hidden 19th-century graves with a stop at this nearby oddities shop filled with taxidermy and mammal skeletons.
- Rogue Buddha Gallery — Keep the dark, surreal vibe going by heading less than a mile away to this moody gallery dedicated to dark pop-surrealism.
- enterSTELLAR — Decompress after touring a former burial ground with a sound bath tucked inside the historic 1887 Casket Arts Building.
Good to know
Why are there thousands of bodies buried under Beltrami Park?
The site was originally Maple Hill Cemetery in the 1800s. When the city condemned the land in 1894 to build a park, only a fraction of the bodies were relocated, leaving an estimated 3,700 buried beneath the grass.
Can you still see gravestones at Beltrami Park?
Yes. While most markers were removed or destroyed, a few weathered 19th-century gravestones—including one for Louis LeDuc—remain hidden in the grass.
What amenities does the park offer?
Beltrami Park features bocce ball courts, playground equipment, picnic areas, and open grassy lawns.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · minneapolisparks.org · mynortheaster.com · mplsparksfoundation.org · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-21