Woodlawn Cemetery

Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio, is a rural-style burial ground laid out in the 1870s on the landscape lawn plan promoted by Adolph Strauch. Philadelphia landscape architect Edward Schwagerl drew its original lot and section plan, which is still followed. Winding roads cross gently rolling ground, and two connected ornamental lakes with small islands anchor the design. Trees of about 300 species and a bird population of some 200 species add to the park-like character. The grounds hold four contributing buildings, including a Romanesque limestone office of 1903 built around a bell tower and a chapel dedicated in 1883 that became a crematory chapel in 1923. A two-mile iron fence dates from 1915 and a concrete bridge from 1913. Forty-two private mausoleums, some neoclassical or Egyptian Revival with Tiffany glass and bronze doors, and distinctive monuments illustrate funerary design. The cemetery also reflects Toledo's growth, as the expanding city reached its edge by 1908.