Spring Grove

Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

---

Spring Grove in Cincinnati, Ohio, established in 1844, is one of the largest nonprofit cemeteries in the United States and also serves as a nationally recognized arboretum and historic landmark.

Inspired by rural cemetery design trends from Europe and the eastern U.S., it was created to replace overcrowded urban burial grounds with a scenic, park-like setting that emphasized natural beauty along with solemn commemoration. Salmon P. Chase and other notable leaders were instrumental in founding the cemetery association and securing a legislative charter in 1845.

Over its 733 acres, Spring Grove has become a masterwork of landscaping and horticulture, blending thousands of gravesites with over 450 acres of maintained grounds, numerous lakes, and extensive plantings including many champion and centenarian trees.

It pioneered the "landscape lawn plan," unifying design elements and limiting grave markers to keep a harmonious natural environment. Spring Grove also preserves rich history through its architecture, sculptures, and notable burials, while continuing to serve the community as both a cemetery and an outdoor museum of landscape art and botanical diversity.​