Some twenty-nine cemeteries are located on the site of the Crane Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC). Today, these are cared for by the Public Works Directorate at Crane. Many of them are still active, that is, burials in family plots continue to the present day.

These files have been contributed by Joe Weber. Cemetery plot numbers have not been included on these pages. In some cases, this information may provide a clue to a spouse or relative. If you need to know a lot number, please contact Joe Weber.

Burial Listings Index:

Visitation:

The Naval Surface Warfare Center at Crane is a relatively high security area and is not open to the general public. However, families of those buried on the Center are allowed to visit the graves. Be advised, that many of the graves are not actually marked, or are marked with "field stones" which are blank stones which mark a spot. Many of the engraved stones are of native limestone and have eroded beyond legibility. The Center's main gate (Bloomington Gate) is at the intersection of State Roads 45 and 58. Prior arrangements must be made by contacting the Public Affairs Office:

Commander Code 052 (Public Affairs)
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Div
300 Highway 361
Crane, IN 4752-5001

or by calling the Public Affairs Office at (812) 854 -1495.

NOTE: Cameras are normally not allowed on the Center.

In the late 1930s, the United States department of Agriculture proposed the White River Project for a portion of Martin county characterized by sub-marginal farm land and low living standards in the area. The project provided for the purchase of 32,000 acres of the poorest land in Martin county with the goal of restoring its forest productivity and creating a state park. About 90 acres of picnic areas were developed and Furst Creek was dammed to create the 800- acre Lake Greenwood. The White River Project was dedicated on September 15, 1939.

Early in 1940, with the war already in progress in Europe, Congress passed the first supplemental National Defense Appropriations Act, for new inland ammunition production facilities, $3 Million of which was earmarked to build a Navy Ammunition Depot at Burns City, Indiana on the site of the White River Project. Originally named Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD),Burns City, in 1943 the name was changed to Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) Crane, to honor Commodore William Montgomery Crane, the Navy's first Chief of the Bureau of Ordinance. In 1975, owing to the changing nature of the mission of the site, the name was again changed to the Naval Weapons Support Center (NWSC), Crane. In 1992 as part of the on-going Department of Defense Re-organization, Crane was merged with the Naval Ordnance Station at Louisville, Kentucky to form the Crane Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC).

Today, the site comprises 62,465 acres, covering about one-third of Martin county, and small portions of Greene, Lawrence and Daviess counties. Of this, some 48,563 acres are timberland, part of the Hoosier National Forest.

Note: This page was not prepared by NSWC Crane, the U.S. Navy nor the Department of Defense, nor are they in anyway responsible for its content or accuracy.

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