The story: Patton Cemetery contains the graves of several LaPorte pioneers and a Jewish burial ground. The Jewish cemetery, located on the eastern side of Patton Cemetery, was founded in 1854. Several of the tombstones are in Hebrew and many others list the birthplace of the deceased, making them perfect for genealogical research. In the southeastern section of Patton Cemetery is a grave with a most unusual history. This is the grave of A. K. Heigelein, the last victim of the infamous Belle Gunness. Belle's story in LaPorte begins in 1904 when either a meat cleaver or a sausage grinder fell off a kitchen shelf and killed her second husband. Shortly thereafter, she began advertising in lonely hearts columns for a fairly well-off husband. Interested men were invited to her McClung Road farm after first being asked to convert all their holdings to cash. Helgelein came to the Gunness farm in late 1907 or early 1908 from Dakota. After a long absence and no communication, his brother wrote to Mrs. Gunness and was told that A. K. Heigelein had returned to Norway. On April 27, 1908, Belle Gunness drove into LaPorte and made a will leaving all her possessions to her children should they survive her or to a Norwegian orphan home in Chicago if they did not. Early in the morning of April 28, her farm burned to the ground and Belle Gunness and her adopted children were believed to have died in the fire. Her handy man, Ray Lamphere, was arrested for murder and arson. Heigelein's brother read about the fire in a Chicago newspaper and hurried to LaPorte where he managed to convince the sheriff to do a little exploratory digging in the Gunness farmyard. His brother's mutilated body was quickly found, along with the remains of 11 others in various stages of decomposition. As the news spread, thousands flocked to LaPorte to see the farm on "Murder Hill." Ray Lamphere was convicted of arson but, before his death from tuberculosis in the prison at Michigan City, he revealed that Belle Gunness had not died in the fire and that he had burned the house on her orders. After his death, Lamphere was buried in Rossburg Cemetery on Hwy. 20 and Wilhelm Rd. Many of the bodies discovered on Belle's farm were found to contain quantities of arsenic in their stomachs. Whether or not Belle Gunness died in the fire in 1908, she remains a fiendish and mysterious figure of LaPorte County's past.
Date: April, 6 2008
Time: 3:30AM
Weather: Cool (40 degrees), mid-cloud sky.
Report: No report available

Location: Hwy. 20 and Wilhelm Rd., Michigan City, IN

Our Encounter: As we pulled up to Patton cemetery we realized how large it was. The cemetery looks like a newer generation cemetery with houses all around it. It rests on a lot roughly 50+ acres in size. We pulled our vehicle inside the cemetery and started following the windy roads within. As we drove we desperately looked for a place to park our vehicle and start our investigations. Towards the back of the cemetery we found a great spot to park. It looked like they were paving something. We parked next to a wooden shack that looked like it was decaying pretty badly (probably the spookiest part of the cemetery).

We found ourself following a path which led us to an entrance of the 'old' section of the cemetery. It's entrance had two white pillars with a nice brick walkway. As we followed it inside we snapped some pictures of interesting graves and headstones. We then saw two spotlights on our vehicle and rushed over. To our surprise it was two Michigan City police cars inspecting our vehicle. Though we called the Michigan City police station and told them we were coming, they still kicked us out. They claim that the neighbors from the local neighborhood watch claimed we where causing 'trouble'. We graciously left and snapped a picture of their wonderful car.

So tip for anyone looking to go to this cemetery. Make sure you call ahead and make sure they know your coming. It seems that there was miscommunication between officers when we went, hopefully you have better luck.

Interesting Pictures:

Entrance to old cemetery.	Interesting Tomb	Graves	Shack mentioned	COPS!

Click here to discuss this in the forums