The history and future of Greenbush Cemetery’s retrofitted mausoleum

Built in the 19th century as storage when the ground was cold, the renovated limestone structure will be dedicated Wednesday as a columbarium, the final resting spot for unclaimed ashes.

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THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF GREENBUSH CEMETERY’S RETROFITTED MAUSOLEUM

Jonathan Fisher said he first noticed the mausoleum near the center of Greenbush Cemetery shortly after Fairfield Township assumed ownership and as he got involved with a fundraiser ball the township was holding to help maintain and fix damaged headstones on the property at Ninth and Greenbush streets.

The 19^th century limestone structure, designed by the same architect behind the Tippecanoe County Courthouse, had long ago given up its original purpose as a storage space to hold caskets during the winter until the ground was soft enough for gravediggers to do their work. At the time, he said, previous owners of the 10-acre cemetery where many of Lafayette earliest residents were buried had resorted to using it as a makeshift storage shed.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

Fisher, director of the Fisher Funeral Home in downtown Lafayette, said he mentioned to then-Fairfield Township Trustee Julie Roush that the mausoleum would make an ideal spot repurposed as a columbarium, where cremains of the unknown or unclaimed could permanently rest.

“I had no idea it was there,” Fisher said. “When I saw it, I thought it could be something better than holding lawn mowers and cemetery stuff, that’s for sure.”

Wednesday afternoon, Fairfield Township will rededicate the structure after a project to clean it and build storage space ready for up to 140 urns, with room inside to expand beyond that.

“It took a while to get done, but this was really a community-driven project,” Fairfield Township Trustee Monica Casanova said. “I want to make sure people’s remains have a place to go and people have a dignified, proper goodbye. I think that was everyone’s goal here.”