Spring Grove Cemetery

Nicolay monument, Spring Grove Cemetery
Nicolay monument, Spring Grove Cemetery

I recently had the opportunity to visit Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. All I can say is that I wish I’d had more time to explore this fascinating historic cemetery. (It also would have been nice for it to not have been so hot and humid, but that’s Ohio in the summer!)

Spring Grove Cemetery had its first burial on September 1, 1845 and has since become the final resting place for thousands of Cincinnatians. The grounds are beautifully landscaped. With the magnificent monuments, it is easy in places to think you are in an outdoor art museum rather than a cemetery.

Among the burials are 41 Civil War generals (including brevet generals), one of them Major General Joseph Hooker. There are also seven Medal of Honor recipients and several Revolutionary War veterans. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 in recognition of its architecture and landscape.

The cemetery is open from every day 8am – 6pm (8am – 8pm Monday through Thursday during the summer).  The office is open Monday through Friday 8am – 5 pm, Saturday 8am – 4pm, and Sunday 12pm – 4pm. The website (springgrove.org) features a database of burials and a map of the grounds.

My suggestions for visiting Spring Grove Cemetery:

  • Allow plenty of time (this isn’t a cemetery you can cover in a half hour!)
  • Wear comfortable shoes
  • Make sure you have plenty of film or space on you camera’s memory card
  • Have a spare set of fresh batteries for your camera
One of many angels at Spring Grove
One of many angels at Spring Grove
Posted: July 26, 2008.

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  • Thanks for the link! I had in my notes that some of my Carlisle cousins were buried in Spring Grove but hadn’t followed up with it. The scanned images have been a treasure trove of information for me.

  • I used to live in Cincinnati. Before I lived there, I had lived in the Memphis area. There was a man from our church in Memphis who died shortly after I first went to Cincinnati. They told me that his funeral would be at Spring Grove. That was my first visit to that cemetery. I had never seen a cemetery so large (with the possible exception of a national cemetery) or so parklike in its setting. I’ve seen many since then, but Spring Grove will always be special!