Greenlawn Cemetery, Tiffin

Greenlawn Cemetery, Tiffin

895 East County Road 36 (Coe Road) Tiffin, Ohio 44883

Greenlawn Cemetery Association website
Greenlawn Cemetery Association walking tour

About this Location

On May 27, 1831, Josiah Hedges recorded a survey in which he designated Tiffin lot #7 as a community cemetery. Lot #7 was in the area that is now Hedges Park located behind Calvert High School. Within twenty years, the cemetery grounds had become a disgrace and were badly overgrown. Grave markers have been toppled, many of them taken to use for sidewalks. The bank of Rock Creek had eroded, exposing caskets and human remains. The lane to the cemetery, which is now Tiffin Street had become inaccessible. By 1859, the area was an eyesore and a source of embarrassment to the community.

It was out of embarrassment that Greenlawn Cemetery was founded. On September 7, 1859, an ad-hoc committee of prominent professionals and businessmen, led by Rezin W. Shawhan, was convened to discuss the situation. Other committee members included: Warren P. Nobel, Henry Ebert, Truman H. Bagby, John M. Naylor, John C. Lee, Robert G. Pennington, Alfred G. Sneath, Henry A. Buskirk, John D. Loomis, John T. Huss, and Luther A. Hall. From the September 7th meeting came a Resolution of Need and Intent concerning the development of Greenlawn Cemetery. On November 30, 1859, twenty acres of land were purchased on the north side of Coe Street from the heirs of Thomas Coe. The cost of acquisition was shared by each of the twelve committee members. Rezin Shawhan held the deed to the land conveying lot deeds to individuals who purchased burial lots.

On January 23, 1874, The Greenlawn Cemetery Association was formed to supervise the care and maintenance of the cemetery as well as to handle the sale and conveyance of burial lots.

Features

  • Roadside viewing

  • Restrooms on site

Content from Greenlawn Cemetery Association website