Woodward Hill Cemetery
Why it's listed
Laid out in 1850 on a hilly site above the Conestoga River south of Lancaster, Woodward Hill Cemetery was founded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity as one of the city's new burial grounds on the outskirts. Its thirty-two acres hold several thousand grave markers, dating from the late eighteenth century onward, that show nearly every major style of funerary art of their era. The gently curving drives and paths of the original 1850 section follow the land's undulating topography, while later additions were platted in a grid. The grounds also include a Gothic Revival chapel dating from 1851, a Victorian caretaker's house and several mausoleums, most built around the turn of the twentieth century. The cemetery is valued for its mid-nineteenth-century landscape design and its funerary art, and for the graves of figures such as President James Buchanan, Revolutionary War patriot Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg and painter Jacob Eichholtz.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the cemetery is an excellent local example of the mid-nineteenth-century rural cemetery movement, with a picturesque landscape of curving drives and paths. It also holds a wide range of funerary art and the graves of many prominent Lancaster residents, making it a significant repository of the city's history.
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 05000098, listed February 24, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Bounded by Strawberry St., S. Queen St., and Chesapeake St., Lancaster |
|---|---|
| County | Lancaster County |
| Listed | February 24, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000098 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1850-1951 |
| Architect / builder | Frailey, William P.; Haldy, Lewis; Kreider, Amos; John Moedinger & Sons |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival; Victorian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Art |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Lancaster City Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.02567, -76.30007 (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 05000098.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8033567
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.