Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum (733 acre) is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and is recognized as a US National Historic Landmark.

History

The 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. He created a more open landscape by setting limits on private enclosures and monument heights. The results of the redesign earned Strauch praise in the U.S. and abroad, including from Frederick Law Olmsted and the French landscape architect Edouard André. 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. On October 23, 2013, cemetery staff removed a large and potentially disturbing SpongeBob SquarePants headstone from the grave of U.S. Army Corporal Kimberly Walker and another for her still-living sister a day after her funeral. The family believed they had permission from a worker, who management said had erred. In February 2014, both parties agreed to reinstate the statues with granite slabs largely hiding them from passersby.

Description

Spring Grove encompasses 733 acre of which 400 acre are currently landscaped and maintained. Its grounds include 12 ponds, many fine tombstones and memorials, and various examples of Gothic Revival architecture. As of 2005, its National Champion trees were Cladrastis kentukea and Halesia diptera; its State Champion trees included Abies cilicica, Abies koreana, Cedrus libani, Chionanthus virginicus, Eucommia ulmoides, Halesia parvifolia, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Phellodendron amurense, Picea orientalis, Picea polita, Pinus flexilis, Pinus griffithi, Pinus monticola, Quercus cerris, Quercus nigra, Taxodium distichum, Ulmus serotina, and Zelkova serrata.

Notable burials

See also Category:Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery.