Woodland Cemetery Association of Dayton Historic District

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.