Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. VA lists it as open for burials. Burial is free for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

Source: National Cemetery Administration (cem.va.gov), retrieved May 2026

History of Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is located in Minneapolis, MN. It is one of seven national cemeteries created between the world wars, 1934–1939, to increase the size of the national cemetery system. It was the first major expansion since the Civil War, to serve a growing veteran population at a time when burial space at existing national cemeteries was depleting rapidly. The new cemetery locations were based on veterans' residence. The other inter world war national cemeteries are Baltimore, Maryland; Fort Bliss and Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Rosecrans and Golden Gate, California; and Long Island, New York.

The federal government established the first frontier post at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers near present-day Minneapolis in 1805. In 1820, Colonel Josiah Snelling of the 5th U.S. Army Infantry Regiment oversaw the construction of a permanent post here, named Fort Anthony. General Winfield Scott inspected the fort in 1824 and he was so impressed that he recommended its name be changed to that of its commander.

Fort Snelling served as a permanent frontier post until 1855 when it was demoted to a supply depot. The Civil War (1861–1865) prompted an expansion of the fort into a training center for Minnesota volunteers, and after the war it functioned as headquarters and supply base for the Military Department of the Dakota. Soldiers from Fort Snelling served in western wars against Native Americans and in the Spanish American War (1898–1902). Used for training through the world wars, it was deactivated in 1947.

A small post cemetery served the military and civilians at Fort Snelling during the years when it was active. The first recorded burial was in 1826 and by the 1930s it contained several hundred graves. The growing veteran population, primarily from World War I, in the St. Paul-Minneapolis region spurred veterans' groups through the 1930s to petition Congress to establish a new national cemetery, no national cemetery existed in the region. In 1937, the War Department was authorized to allocate 180 acres in the southwest corner of the Fort Snelling Military Reservation for a new cemetery. Of the interwar cemeteries, Ft. Snelling is the only one constructed entirely because of intent to accommodate the Veteran population. It marked a transformation in cemetery construction policy that emphasized convenience as an element of burial privilege. That summer, New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers broke ground, to develop 40 acres into burial sections, and to construct a lodge, utility buildings, and massive gates in a stark Stripped Classicism architectural style.

The first interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery was World War I Captain George H. Mallon, a Medal of Honor recipient, on July 5, 1939, just a few days before the cemetery was formally dedicated on July 14, 1939. Soon after, 680 remains were removed from the Fort Snelling Post Cemetery and reinterred in Section A, Block 23; of these, 282 are unknowns.

A second phase of cemetery development began in summer 1941, but it was put on hold due to World War II (1941–1945). Work resumed in 1948 and would continue for several decades. The overall cemetery size increased to approximately 436 acres by 1960, of which 137 acres were prepared for interments by 1972. Earthen berms were added along the cemetery's northern border in 1977 to reduce noise from the nearby international airport. Expansion continued in the 21st century to include additional in-ground gravesites and columbaria for cremated remains, as well as committal shelters.

Fort Snelling is one of more than eighty VA national cemeteries that use upright General headstones and flat markers, in separate burial sections. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Monuments and Memorials Fort Snelling National Cemetery contains more than seventy-five standard monuments that have been donated by veterans' and patriotic organizations, most honor service in twentieth-century conflicts. The monuments are grouped in three locations: around the flagpole at Wold Circle, the alignment of Mallon Road beginning at the U.S. flagpole, and the culmination of the Assembly Areas along Kraus Avenue.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, with section and site where recorded.

Directions

The cemetery is located south of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport on 34th Avenue. From the airport, take Highway 5 West toward Highway 494 west. Take the exit ramp for 34th Avenue and turn right at the stop light. Cemetery main entrance is the first gate on the right.

Flowers and grounds rules

Fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. Portable cone containers for flowers can be found throughout the cemetery in stone containers. Flowers will be disposed of by cemetery personnel when they are withered, faded or otherwise unsightly.

Artificial flowers may only be placed on graves from October 1 through April 1 because the wires from artificial flowers have caused damage to the mowing equipment, and pose a safety hazard to workers and visitors during mowing operations. They will be removed when they are faded or unsightly.

Education and visiting programs

More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Who can be buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery?

VA national cemeteries accept a veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, a service member who died on active duty or in training, the veteran's spouse or surviving spouse (even if they remarried), and minor or, in some cases, unmarried adult dependent children. National Guard and Reserve members qualify under narrower rules. You can ask VA for a pre-need eligibility decision in advance; it does not reserve a gravesite.

What does burial here include at no cost?

• A gravesite in any VA national cemetery with available space
• Opening and closing of the grave
• A government-provided burial liner
• A government-provided headstone or marker
• Perpetual care of the gravesite

Veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate (presented to the next of kin at the burial) and military funeral honors, which include the playing of Taps and two uniformed service members who present the flag. The committal service is held at a committal shelter, not at the grave, and lasts about 20 minutes. National cemeteries have no viewing facilities, so the funeral itself is held elsewhere.

How do you schedule a burial at Fort Snelling National Cemetery?

1. Gather the veteran's DD214 or other discharge papers, and the deceased's details (Social Security number, dates of birth and death, relationship to the veteran).
2. Fax the discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 866-900-6417, or email them to [email protected] with the deceased's name in the subject line.
3. You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Fort Snelling National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

Where is the Fort Snelling National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Fort Snelling National Cemetery to see the committal services planned there. It only lists burials whose families agreed to publish them. To change or cancel a burial that's already scheduled, contact Fort Snelling National Cemetery directly at 612-726-1127.

Headstone, flag and burial allowance

• Government headstone or marker: tell the scheduling office which headstone, marker, niche cover or medallion you want when you schedule the burial.
• Burial flag: VA Form 27-2008.
• Burial allowance: For a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026, VA pays up to $1,032 toward burial and funeral costs and $1,032 for a plot; for a service-connected death on or after September 11, 2001, the burial allowance is up to $2,000. Claim it with VA Form 21P-530EZ. All benefits

After the funeral: survivor benefits and the estate

A surviving spouse, child or parent may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a tax-free monthly VA benefit, for example when the death was service connected (VA Form 21P-534EZ). The veteran's estate is settled under Minnesota law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Minnesota and lists each county's probate court. For the rest of the paperwork, from Social Security to bank accounts, DeathUS has a step-by-step checklist of what to do when someone dies.

Nearest cemeteries

The three veterans cemeteries closest to Fort Snelling National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery - Redwood Falls, Redwood Falls, MN: 92 mi, open for burials
• Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Spooner, WI: 93 mi, open for burials
• Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery - Preston, Preston, MN: 99 mi, open for burials