Grandview Cemetery
Why it's listed
Grandview Cemetery occupies about 90 acres of rolling hilltop southwest of Chillicothe, with views over the Scioto River Valley and toward Paint Creek. The first land was bought in 1845 at a public sale of estates, and the full acreage was assembled by the 1890s. Early deeds restricted structures, walls over four and one-half feet and monuments judged in poor taste. The grounds include a Civil War Union Veterans monument, a speaker's shelter, a cut-stone Gothic receiving vault, and mausoleums and crypts in Gothic, Greek, Romanesque and classical revival styles. The oldest part is the Renick Enclosure, walled in stone. Those buried here include Nathaniel Massie, founder of Chillicothe, and Ohio governors Edward Tiffin, Thomas Worthington, Duncan McArthur and William Allen. General Joshua Sill, archaeologist Edwin Davis, cartoonist Billy Ireland and paper scholar Dard Hunter are also interred. The property was listed for its associations with early Ohio leaders and for its monuments and landscape.
Significance in brief: The cemetery holds the graves of four Ohio governors, a Civil War general and pioneer founders of Ohio and Chillicothe. Its mausoleums, crypts and monuments are cited for superior workmanship and detailing in Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Romanesque and early twentieth-century classical revival influences. Reviewers also noted its landscape design and its mid-19th century setting with monuments from the 1850s to the early 20th century.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78002180, listed December 19, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 240 S. Walnut St., Chillicothe |
|---|---|
| County | Ross County |
| Listed | December 19, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002180 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Romanesque and early twentieth-century classical revival influences |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still an active cemetery with burials continuing; older sections appear limited to existing family plots. The Receiving Vault is now used for storage. |
| Acreage | 91.6 |
| Within district | Chillicothe's Old Residential District |
| Coordinates | 39.32435, -82.98732 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78002180.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5595568
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.