Wyuka Cemetery
About this property
Wyuka Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1890, Lincoln's Bnai Jeshurun Congregation, a Reform congregation, began using a section of Wyuka. In 2007, the Nebraska Holocaust Memorial was established at Wyuka Cemetery. Wyuka Cemetery was established in Lincoln, Nebraska, by an act of the Nebraska Legislature in 1869, which sought to provide a cemetery for the state capital city founded two years prior. The trustees rejected the first cemetery site along Salt Creek to the west of Lincoln due to flooding concerns and instead purchased 80 acres of land east of the city. Wyuka Cemetery has since expanded to over 140 acres between O Street and Vine Street. The iron fence surrounding the cemetery was originally erected around the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus. The Board of Regents authorized the construction of the fence in 1891, and the fence enclosed the original campus until 1925 when it was removed due to safety concerns because fire engines could not pass through the width of the gates. Wyuka Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is considered a prime example of the rural cemetery form. In 2025, the mural from Pershing Center was installed on the cemetery grounds. Victor Emanuel Anderson (1902–1962), Governor of Nebraska Charles W. Bryan (1867–1945), Mayor of Lincoln and Governor of Nebraska Emily M. J. Cooley (1831-1917), religious and temperance leader Elizabeth Hawley Everett (1857-1940), clubwoman, suffragist, author, magazine founder/editor, school principal, superintendent of schools J. James Exon (1921–2005), Governor of Nebraska and US Senator Don Hollenbeck (1905–1954), Radio newscaster and commentator John Claus Hubbard (1852-1907), Founder of Omaha's first Black newspaper and African-American political figure Samuel Roy McKelvie (1881–1956), Governor of Nebraska Milton Montgomery (1825–1897), Civil War Brevet Brigadier General Louise Pound (1872–1958), American folklorist, linguist, and English professor William A. Poynter (1848–1909), Governor of Nebraska Peter Sauer (1900–1949), Russian-born World Wrestling champion using the ring name Ray Steele John Milton Thayer (1820–1906), Governor of Nebraska, US Senator and Union General Bobby Rae Williams (1942–2012), professional football player U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wyuka Cemetery
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Wyuka Cemetery
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Questions about this property
When was Wyuka Cemetery listed on the National Register?
Wyuka Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 18, 1982.
What type of historic resource is Wyuka Cemetery?
Wyuka Cemetery is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Wyuka Cemetery?
The period of significance for Wyuka Cemetery is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Wyuka Cemetery?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Wyuka Cemetery will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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