Frank J. Hecker was one of the organizers, and the president of the Woodlawn Cemetery Association, and he was also extremely rich and well connected. His easiest legacy to see is the incredible mausoleum he built himself on what would become the Woodlawn cemetery in Detroit

Frank J. Hecker was born in Freedom, Michigan, in 1846. At the age of 18, he enlisted in Company K of the 41st Missouri Infantry. From December 1864 to 1866, he served under Grenville M. Dodge in the Department of Missouri Headquarters as a clerk. Once his service had been finalized, Hecker worked 4 years for the Union Pacific Railroad (1866-c. 1870); for several railroad construction projects of Major Thomas C. Cornell (1870-1876); and as superintendent of the Detroit, Eel River, and Illinois Railroad (c. 1876-1879).

In December 1879, T. D. Buhl and Frank Hecker established the Peninsular Car Works for the manufacture of freight cars, with Buhl as president, and Hecker as vice president and treasurer.

About 1880, Peninsular acquired the Adrian Car Company at Adrian, Michigan, south of Detroit. That same year it built for Swift and Company some of the earliest refrigerated cars.

Frank Hecker worked alongside Freer, Joy and General Alger, the company directors. In 1884 Hecker and Freer changed the name of the organization to the Peninsular Car Company. The Peninsular Car Company combined with the Michigan Car Company in 1892 to form the Michigan-Peninsular Car Company.

In 1879, Michigan Car employed a 16 year old “mechanic,” fresh off his father’s farm, named Henry Ford. It was Henry’s first job, and the story is told that he was fired before long because he angered older employees by making repairs in ½ hour that usually took 5 hours.

Hecker remained president until 1899.

In June 1898 (during the Spanish-American War), now Secretary of War Alger gave Hecker the authority to purchase and charter ships for the transportation of troops and supplies for the United States government.

On July 18, 1898, President McKinley commissioned  Hecker as a Colonel of Volunteers, Chief of the Division of Transportation, Quartermaster's Department. In this capacity, Col. Hecker continued his purchasing and hiring duties, outfitted transports for conveying troops to and from Cuba and Manila, arranged for the transportation of troops by rail, contracted for the movement of Spanish prisoners from Santiago to Spain, and conducted inspections.

When Theodore Roosevelt established the second Isthmian Canal Commission to supervise the construction of a canal and establish the Canal Zone government in March 1904, Colonel Frank J. Hecker was among the men appointed to serve in the group.

While Frank Hecker never held another public office, he remained active in Michigan industry and business. From May 1905 to December 1906, Hecker, and others owned a controlling share of capital stock of the Detroit Free Press.

 Among Frank Hecker's many other affiliations, he was on the original Board of Directors of the Union Trust Company of Detroit (October 1891), Detroit Lumber Company (December 1899), and Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company (1900). He also served on the Boards of Directors of the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, LaSalle County Carbon Cola Company, and State Savings Bank (later the Peoples State Bank).

Hecker was also one of the organizers and the president of the Woodlawn Cemetery Association (1895ff.) and was appointed to the Metropolitan Police Commission of Detroit, 1888-1891.

his Mausoleum cost about 1.2 million in today's money,  and was constructed of white Vermont marble. Such extravagance from the very founding of the cemetary made it's reputation as the place to be buried for the Detroit wealthy families

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/clementsead/umich-wcl-M-910hec?rgn=main;view=text
https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/michigan-peninsular.htm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/71288712@N00/with/8685164588/