Glendale Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Glendale Cemetery is a cemetery and historic district located in Akron, Ohio
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 2001.
, which he visited in 1838. Glendale is a picturesque romantic landscape with its curving roads, use of promontories to create vistas and a variety of architectural styles that draw upon ancient building forms. Mausoleums are modeled after Egyptian, Greek and Roman temples or Gothic churches. Nineteenth-century accounts described Glendale as “beautifully laid out in romantic drives and walks” and note its role as an area park and tourist destination.
Originally, the cemetery had a stream and two bodies of water—Willow and Swan Lakes. Due to the increased development surrounding the cemetery during the late 19th century, the natural spring that fed the lakes dried up. The superintendent of the cemetery at that time proposed running a pipe to the Ohio and Erie Canal
to re-water the lakes, but this was never realized. Today the open space or Great Meadow recalls the scale of Swan Lake and several mausoleums have small foot bridges that once crossed over the stream fronting them. Distinct sections of the cemetery are devoted to the Masons, Akron’s Jewish community and infants and children. The Civil War is prominently commemorated in Glendale Cemetery. The Buckley Post of the Union Army has a large memorial marker surrounded by 50 headstones located on the northern plateau. The 1876 Gothic Revival
style Memorial Chapel was constructed by the Buckley Post and has been recently restored.
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2001.
History
Glendale Cemetery was founded in 1839 by Dr. J.D. Commins. Here statues of prominent citizens, an avenue of stately mausoleums and a collection of headstones tell the story of Akron’s past. Originally known as Akron Rural Cemetery, Commins modeled the design of the cemetery after Boston’s Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
, which he visited in 1838. Glendale is a picturesque romantic landscape with its curving roads, use of promontories to create vistas and a variety of architectural styles that draw upon ancient building forms. Mausoleums are modeled after Egyptian, Greek and Roman temples or Gothic churches. Nineteenth-century accounts described Glendale as “beautifully laid out in romantic drives and walks” and note its role as an area park and tourist destination.
Originally, the cemetery had a stream and two bodies of water—Willow and Swan Lakes. Due to the increased development surrounding the cemetery during the late 19th century, the natural spring that fed the lakes dried up. The superintendent of the cemetery at that time proposed running a pipe to the Ohio and Erie Canal
Ohio and Erie Canal
The Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
to re-water the lakes, but this was never realized. Today the open space or Great Meadow recalls the scale of Swan Lake and several mausoleums have small foot bridges that once crossed over the stream fronting them. Distinct sections of the cemetery are devoted to the Masons, Akron’s Jewish community and infants and children. The Civil War is prominently commemorated in Glendale Cemetery. The Buckley Post of the Union Army has a large memorial marker surrounded by 50 headstones located on the northern plateau. The 1876 Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style Memorial Chapel was constructed by the Buckley Post and has been recently restored.