Walnut Grove Cemetery Walking Tour

Tour this park-like cemetery and meet some of Worthington's notable residents now buried here.

Walnut Grove Cemetery Walking Tour

Worthington, Ohio 43085, United States

Created By: Worthington Historical Society

Tour Information

Welcome to Walnut Grove Cemetery.

This is the resting place of over 9,000 people including veterans from every war starting with the War of 1812.

The cemetery was one of the very first in Ohio to embrace the new idea of a “Forest Park” setting where the peaceful park like atmosphere helped people reflect and enjoy the final resting place of so many loved ones.

Worthington's St. John Episcopal Church cemetery was filling up rapidly by the mid-1800's and a new burying ground became necessary. In 1859, a purchase of nearly fifty acres for $2150.00 was agreed upon in this spot. The clearing and preparing of ten acres of the land was undertaken as well as building a road to the property. The cemetery gradually sold off the other 40 acres.

The First Burial at Walnut Grove Cemetery took place February 1, 1859. Numerous people buried earlier were moved from the Methodist and Presbyterian cemeteries, when they were closed.

Since its inception, Walnut Grove Cemetery has operated as a Union Cemetery, meaning it is owned and operated by two municipalities, Sharon Township and the City of Worthington.


Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Welcome to Walnut Grove Cemetery. Visitors who arrive in a vehicle can park at the office lot, or alongside any of the roads throughout the cemtery.  Please make sure dogs are leashed during your visit. Additionally, should a funeral be i... Read more
Images (swipe left on pictures to view all four): (1 & 2) Pinney headstones; (3) Beers Tavern c. 1900; (4) Jennie Beers headstone To the left of the road, as you approach Maple Street, you will find the markers for Captain William Pinne... Read more
“Orange ” was a more common name in the 1800s than it is today.  At that time, there were at least 3 “Orange Johnsons” (unrelated to each other) living in Ohio; two in Worthington! Buried in Walnut Grove is a different Orange Johns... Read more
Walnut Grove has at least 20 members of the Griswold family, many of whom are buried in this area.  You may enjoy wandering off the path towards  the tall obelisk (image 1) in the section to the left.  Here is the monument for George Ha... Read more
Look for the white marker for John Hood just after Beech to locate the row where the Birkheads are buried.   James Birkhead and his wife, Lettie, lived on property once owned by Worthington’s founder, James Kilbourn.  In the early 1... Read more
Images: (1) Gardner plot, (2) Lyman Gardner stone; (3) Gardner House at 161 and Oxford; (4/5) Royal Gardner stone & I.O.O.F. marker Lyman Gardner served in the Civil War, and after retiring from the saw mill/lumber business, in the Powe... Read more
In 1918 a mausoleum, with 128 crypts, was completed by Scott Morris. In 1967 his widow signed a quit-claim selling the mausoleum to Walnut Grove Cemetery for one dollar to allow the much needed repairs to be made using tax money.    Mauso... Read more
Images: (1/2) Maynard monument; (3) Crissa Johnson Maynard; (4) Maynard homestead where Riverlea is now; (5/6) Crissa's fan and cupboard at the Orange Johnson House; (7) Clara Lenhert Maynard Crissa Maynard was the sister of early prominent... Read more
Images: (1 & 2) Snow Monument, (3) Snow House; (4) Masonic Lodge on High Street; (5) John Snow  Most of Worthington’s Scioto Company were Masons, and the organization was a very important aspect of life in early Worthington.  John S... Read more
From the Walnut Grove Cemetery website: Each year the Worthington American Legion Post 239 hosts one of the largest Memorial Day parades in Ohio.  The parade begins at the American Legion Post 239 on Morning Street and ends at Walnut Grove... Read more
Three generations of the Wright family were the occupants the elegant residence at 137 E. Granville Rd now known as the Sharon Memorial Hall. It was built in 1861 by Horace Wright in before his marriage to Henrietta Tuller. Wright oper... Read more
Images: (1) Levi Pinney's stone; (2) Levi & Miles Pinney's stones; (3) Levi Pinney's residence painted by Frank Welling Levi Pinney was a young man, when members of the Scioto Company became the first settlers in Worthington.  His marr... Read more
In 1806 Bela and Lydia Holcomb Tuller came to the Worthington vicinity, eventually purchasing farm land in the Linworth area. Son Flavel was eleven years old at the time the family migrated to Ohio.  Flavel Tuller (1795-1881) was a veter... Read more
Thanks to the efforts of Worthington resident Merlin Denig (Denig Jewelers family), Private Lowis Crawford, who died at Worthington’s Camp Lyon, represents the members of the 46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry with memorial monument.   The ... Read more
Images: (1) Corbin Stone; (2) Kilbourne Commercial building where Corbin Funeral Home was located; (3) Cornelia Vest (Corbin), 1904; (4) Cornelia Vest Corbin driving; (5) Frank Corbin, 1927; (6) Edith Corbin's quilt at the Old Rectory Sam a... Read more
Images: (1) Arter row; (2) William Arter's stone; (3) Bill Arter works in his studio in Riverlea; (4) a Vignette as appeared int eh Columbus Dispatch Bill Arter caught the attention of central Ohioans with his whimsical and fascinating Vign... Read more

 

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