{"nrhp_refnum":"11000855","name":"Woodland Cemetery Association of Dayton Historic District","other_names":["Woodland Historic Cemetery, Arboretum and Fondation"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"118 Woodland Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.74364308300005,"lon":-84.17401592874758,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-11-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Landscape Architecture","Art","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 105-acre rural cemetery historic district at 118 Woodland Avenue, about a mile south of downtown Dayton, Ohio, founded in 1841 by the Woodland Cemetery Association under John Van Cleve and later laid out on Adolph Strauch's Landscape Lawn Plan.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Woodland as an early and well-preserved example of the rural cemetery movement, with its landscape lawn plan, lakes, fen, arboretum trees, mausoleums and monuments. It also contains buildings from 1881 to 1929, including the previously listed Richardsonian Romanesque chapel, office and gateway, and the graves of well-known Dayton citizens.","narrative":"Woodland Cemetery occupies 105 historic acres on hilly, ravine-cut ground about one mile south of downtown Dayton, Ohio. The Woodland Cemetery Association was formed in 1841 under John Van Cleve, and the first burial took place in 1843. The grounds later followed Adolph Strauch's Landscape Lawn Plan, with curving drives, small lakes, a fen, and more than 165 labeled tree species. The district counts 25 contributing resources, including mausoleums, monuments, a veterans lot, and outbuildings. At the Woodland Avenue entrance stand the 1889 chapel, office and 1896 gateway, designed by local architects Peters, Burns and Pretzinger in Richardsonian Romanesque style. The chapel interior was redecorated by Tiffany Studios in 1904. Later buildings include a 1929 French Eclectic superintendent's residence and a 1916 comfort station. The district is significant as a preserved example of the rural cemetery movement, with a period of significance from 1841 to 1929, and the cemetery remains in active use.","period_of_significance":"1841-1929","architect_builder":"Peters, Burns and Pretzinger (chapel, office, gateway, 1889); Albert Pretzinger (comfort station, 1916); landscape plan by Adolph Strauch","architectural_style":"Late Victorian; Late 19th and early 20th Century Revivals (including Richardsonian Romanesque, Victorian Gothic, French Eclectic, English Tudor)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still an active cemetery. The 1889 chapel became a sales and counseling office in 1991, with plans to return it to chapel use. The carriage house and stable are used for storage and equipment.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.699743-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/11000855.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990462","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/woodland-cemetery-association-of-dayton-historic-district-11000855/"}