| History
of Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum |
| In
the 1830's and 1840's, Cincinnatians were saddened by the recurrence
of the cholera epidemic. The crowded and sometimes unkempt appearance
of many of the small church cemeteries in the basin area offered
little comfort to bereaved families. Many of the leaders in the
professional and industrial enterprises of the city expressed their
concern over the lack of proper interment facilities.
Resulting
from this concern, members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society
formed a cemetery association in 1844. They endeavored to find
a location suitable for creating a picturesque park like institution,
a rural cemetery, contiguous to the city yet remote enough not
to be disturbed by expansion. They sought to acquire enough land
to be used for funerary purposes into the indefinite future, which
could be embellished with shrubbery, flowers, trees, walks, and
rural ornaments. These men traveled throughout the United States
and Europe visiting cemeteries of outstanding reputation and beauty
as they planned a cemetery that would equal the famed beauty of
Pere-Lachaise in Paris, and various outstanding cemeteries on
the East Coast of the United States.
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On
December 1, 1844 Salmon Chase and others prepared the Articles of
Incorporation. Chase lobbied with legislators, persuading them to
grant a charter for a non-profit nondenominational corporation,
which was granted by a special act on January 21, 1845. At the consecration
ceremony the founders publicly proclaimed their hope that the natural
setting would be a contemplative atmosphere conducive to consolation,
commemoration, and education. The first interment was made September
1, 1845. |
| In
1987, Spring Grove officially changed its name to "Spring Grove
Cemetery & Arboretum" to include the expansive collection
of both native and exotic plan materials as well as its State and
National Champion Trees and its Centenarian Collection. Today, Spring
Grove encompasses 733 acres of which 400 acres are beautifully landscaped
and maintained. The remaining undeveloped acres ensure the permanence
of the cemetery for hundreds of years. |
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Since
its founding over 150 years ago, Spring Grove has remained a leader
in cemetery design and management. The landscape "lawn plan"
concept was created here. Although it was considered a radical concept
of cemetery design at that time, it later became accepted almost
universally as the model plan. Spring Grove remains a masterwork
of the landscaping art, studied by horticulturists and admired by
thousands of visitors. The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce lists
it among the city's outstanding attractions proudly quoting the
praise of an artist who once said, "Only a place with a heart
and soul could make for its dead a more magnificent park than any
which exists for the living."
Spring Grove continues to provide its services within the
reach of persons of every income. Offering every type of burial
option, several styles of memorialization, an operating crematory,
and the new Gwen Mooney Funeral Home, Spring Grove is proud
to serve Cincinnati residents with care, consideration, and
convenience. |
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