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 story
In 1982, the private company managing Wichita's oldest burial ground simply packed up and walked away. They left 25 acres of 19th-century history to revert to scrub and weeds, creating what quickly became the city’s most heavily vandalized site. Established in 1870, Highland Cemetery was where Wichita laid down its first founders, cattle drovers, and town-builders, only for four decades of neglect to leave hundreds of limestone headstones broken, overturned, or completely swallowed by sod.
If you know where to look among the crooked rows, you’ll find the ornate monument of Colonel William Mathewson—the original 'Buffalo Bill.' Long before William F. Cody toured the world with his Wild West show, Mathewson earned the title by hunting bison to feed starving Kansas settlers during the famine of 1860. Today, municipal park crews handle basic mowing, but the real heavy lifting falls on local historians and volunteer nonprofits who stalk the tree line with ground-penetrating radar, hunting for unmarked graves and re-erecting pioneer stones that haven't seen daylight in fifty years.
What it's like
Turn off Hillside Avenue onto the crumbling interior asphalt drives and park anywhere along the route. Don't expect manicured lawns or manicured paths; the terrain is pocked with ground holes and half-sunken markers that will catch an ankle if you aren't paying attention. It’s eerie, dead silent despite the surrounding Midtown traffic, and completely unlit, so plan to arrive strictly during daylight hours. Wear sturdy boots, bring a pair of eyes trained on the ground, and remember that descendants still stop by to tend to family plots.
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
Pair it with
- Hattie Waller statue & Maple Grove Abbey, Maple Grove Cemetery — Cross Hillside Avenue directly to contrast Highland's open ruin with Maple Grove's preserved Victorian funerary art and its haunting statue of three-year-old Hattie Waller.
- Skeletons Out of the Closet — Head a mile south to the Douglas Design District to trade pioneer graves for upcycled oddities, skulls, and a tiny upstairs oddities museum.
- Lava & Tonic — Finish your daylight cemetery walk nearby with an evening drink inside an unmarked, signless tiki den tucked off Douglas Avenue.
Good to know
Is Highland Cemetery actually abandoned?
The original cemetery corporation abandoned its maintenance responsibilities in 1982, but the City of Wichita now performs baseline groundskeeping so the public can access it safely.
Where do I park when visiting?
Drive directly through the main gate off Hillside Avenue and pull your vehicle onto the shoulders of the narrow internal road network.
Who is the most famous person buried here?
Col. William Mathewson, the original Kansas buffalo hunter known as 'Buffalo Bill' before William F. Cody adopted the nickname, rests beneath a prominent stone monument.
When is the best season to go?
Spring and autumn offer the best visibility. High summer grass can obscure low-lying pioneer markers and make walking treacherous.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: midwesterndeathtrip.com · kwch.com
last checked: 2026-06-06