Spring Grove Cemetery

Story

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the fourth largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a US National Historic Landmark.HistoryThe cemetery dates from 1844, when members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society formed a cemetery association. They took their inspiration from contemporary rural cemeteries such as Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The numerous springs and groves suggested the name "Spring Grove". On December 1, 1844 Salmon P. Chase and others prepared the Articles of Incorporation. The cemetery was designed by Howard Daniels and formally chartered on January 21, 1845. The first burial took place on September 1, 1845.In 1855, Adolph Strauch, a renowned landscape architect, was hired to beautify the grounds. His sense and layout of the "garden cemetery", made of lakes, trees and shrubs, is what visitors today still see. On March 29, 2007, the cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark. The Spring Grove Cemetery Chapel is listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places.