Cemetery Musings: First Exploration

Beautiful flowers, a massive pond complete with fountain and large Koi, and weathered trees and bushes surrounded the section of the cemetery explored by my partner and I. As we walked through one of the original sections of the cemetery, the history of our city sprung up around us. Those that developed the cultural hub of Cincinnati are buried spaciously around the lake, most with a view of the water.

The headstones, mausoleums, and statues that we passed touched on the history and development of our city. We passed the elaborate Dexter mausoleum, as well as the McAlpin monument, the Fleischmann temple, the West monument, and the Erkenbrecher monument. The founders of institutions such as the zoo, the art museum, the Tyler Davidson fountain, and the cemetery are buried within this section. We walked a road map of Cincinnati, as many of the names we passed are reflected in the street names and prominent buildings of our city.

The park atmosphere was also heavily present in this section. Although the large pond that was the centerpiece of the section appears to have been neglected, it may have been used for wading, boating, and fishing. The shady spaces between the family plots provide a perfect area for a Sunday afternoon picnic. Families have strategically placed benches as their monuments, with views of the lake. The family plots contained within this section are spaced out, which added to the park-like atmosphere of our examination.

There were many different heritages and artistic influences observed in this area. The Fleischmann temple is a replica of the Greek Parthenon. The Dexter mausoleum is Gothic in nature. We also passed a few statues that seemed to be roman in nature. The engravings placed on headstones further showed different cultural areas, beliefs, and professions by the placement of Greek letters.

My partner and I spent much of our time trying to decipher the familial relationships. The family plots were arranged in many different manners. Some resembled spokes in a wheel, others appeared more “family tree” and linear in arrangement. We passed one plot that we had to wonder of one of the members was ostracized, due to the amount of space between the rest of the family and her burial site (If this site lets me, I will add the video I took of this). In the era that most of the people buried here lived, lifespans were shorter, but sometimes dates did not match up easily. We found graves of those who died before the opening of Spring Grove and we wondered how that was possible, or if the person was actually buried there. We concluded prosperous sons had their progenitors exhumed from where they were originally buried and moved there for easy visitation or simply erected a monument to show linage. We asked as we walked, who were these people? What did they do? How did a name we did not recognize afford a prime burial spot?

We attempted to take note of everything we observed, but there was simply far too much to see to fully take it all in. The beauty of this area simply left us feeling as if we went for a brief stroll through a garden. We believe this area is indicative of the dual purpose of this cemetery. One can get so lost in its beauty and history, that you almost forget that there are people buried underneath your feet.