{"nrhp_refnum":"92001366","name":"Cedar Grove Cemetery","other_names":["VDHR File No. 124-58"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"301 Fort Ln.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portsmouth (Independent City)","county":"Portsmouth","state":"VA","lat":36.83894108600006,"lon":-76.30768790196073,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Cedar Grove Cemetery is a 5.25-acre public cemetery at 301 Fort Lane in Portsmouth, Virginia, established by an act of the General Assembly in 1832 and owned and maintained by the City.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the cemetery is significant for the design features, craftsmanship and symbolism of its funerary art, which reflects Victorian, Greek Revival and Egyptian Revival motifs. Its monuments, mostly handcrafted from marble and granite in the nineteenth century, are compared to those at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond and the Old Cemetery in Lynchburg. It also records the people and events of Portsmouth's history, including naval, Civil War and civic figures.","narrative":"Cedar Grove Cemetery is a 5.25-acre municipal burial ground near downtown Portsmouth, Virginia. Established by the General Assembly in 1832 after burials within town limits were prohibited for sanitary reasons, it lay outside the city until annexation in 1894. More than four hundred graves are laid out in twenty-by-twenty-foot lots. Monuments include tablets, ledger stones, obelisks, columns and mausoleums, many handcrafted from marble and granite and carved with Victorian, Greek Revival and Egyptian Revival motifs. Symbols such as lambs, anchors, cannons, open Bibles and a railroad engine reflect the faith, occupations and military service of the deceased. The cemetery was listed for the quality and symbolism of this funerary art, with a period of significance from 1832 to 1932. Those buried here include ironclad designer John L. Porter, Judge James F. Crocker, Brigadier General Archibald Godwin and Victoria Cross recipient William Murdaugh. The grounds remain in use and host guided tours.","period_of_significance":"1832-1932","architect_builder":"Anderson, William A.; Butt and Hodges; stonecutters including John Couper, John P. Hall, James Mullholland and James O'Rourke","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival; Exotic Revival; Late Victorian","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use, with about five burials per year, guided tours in spring and early fall, and maintenance by the city Parks and Recreation Department.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.730072-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/6826/41682606/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/92001366.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001366/f0f7c67126-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001366/f0f7c67126-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Capt1922","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cedar_Grove_Cemetery_13Sep2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Capt1922</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cedar_Grove_Cemetery_13Sep2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682606","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Grove_Cemetery_(Portsmouth,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16858581"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/portsmouth/cedar-grove-cemetery-92001366/"}