Ohio's cemeteries range from nineteenth-century garden cemeteries in Cincinnati and Cleveland to small township burial grounds beside farm roads in Wayne, Medina, and Tuscarawas counties. Families, genealogists, and veterans' relatives all end up calling the same kinds of offices. Who answers the phone depends on who owns the ground. This page explains how cemetery ownership is organised across the state, so you can tell quickly whether to call a sexton, a township clerk, a parish office, or a private company.

Who Oversees Cemeteries in Ohio

No single office runs every cemetery in the state. Responsibility is split by ownership type. Private cemetery companies and associations that sell burial rights are covered by Chapter 4767 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, part of the Ohio Department of Commerce, administers that chapter. It requires covered cemeteries to register and sets expectations for record keeping and for the sale of interment rights.

The same chapter created the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission. It hears disagreements between cemeteries and the people who hold burial rights, such as disputes over maintenance, markers, or the terms of a sale. If a private cemetery will not answer you, this is the formal route to try after you have put your complaint in writing.

Township, municipal, and church-run cemeteries often sit under different rules. Township trustees operate public burial grounds under Chapter 517 of the Revised Code, and many townships employ a part-time sexton. City-owned cemeteries are usually run by a municipal department. Religious cemeteries answer to their parish or diocese first.

A funeral home is a separate business from a cemetery. Funeral directors are licensed by the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Grave spaces, opening and closing of graves, and markers are handled by the cemetery. Keep the two sets of paperwork and the two price lists apart when you compare costs.

Metro Cemeteries Versus Rural Burial Grounds in Ohio

The largest concentration of burial grounds is in the northeast. Cuyahoga County has more listings than any other county in our database. Cleveland Denison Cemetery on Ellen Avenue (216-348-7210) is one of them. Lake View Cemetery, home to the James A. Garfield Memorial, shows how old the city's burial tradition is. Older urban cemeteries often keep paper ledgers and may ask you to call ahead before a records search.

In southwest Ohio, Hamilton County and Cincinnati hold a cluster of historic cemeteries. Spring Grove Cemetery, founded in 1845, is a National Historic Landmark. Our listings include Cincinnati Mount Moriah Cemetery at 686 Mount Moriah Drive (513-752-1773). Large urban grounds like these tend to have staffed offices with set weekday hours.

Central Ohio follows the same pattern. Franklin County includes Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, established in 1848. It also includes a pet burial ground, Brown pet cemetery on Sawyer Road. Westerville's Northlawn Memory Gardens at 7060 Ohio 3 (614-882-8392) serves the northern suburbs.

Rural Ohio works differently. In places like Medina, London, Dover, and Sidney, you may be dealing with a township sexton, a small association, or a family-run board. Ganyard Cemetery at 3717 Ridge Road in Medina (330-239-1931) and London Oak Hill Cemetery at 104 Lafayette Road (740-852-1518) are examples. Offices may be staffed only a few hours a week, and voicemail is common. Leave a clear message with the lot or surname you need.

Operator Types: Township, Municipal, Memory Gardens, and Catholic Cemeteries

Municipal and township grounds

Cities such as Chillicothe, Dover, and Lima list long-established cemeteries in our directory. Chillicothe Grandview Cemetery at 300 Brookside Road (740-774-2230) and Dover Maple Grove Cemetery at 1000 North Walnut Street (330-343-0011) are two. Public cemeteries usually publish their lot prices and rules, and they often keep an interment register open for inspection. Ask the office for the current fee schedule in writing.

Private memory gardens

Memory gardens are privately operated cemeteries that typically require flat markers. They also tend to sell packages that combine the grave space, the opening and closing, and the marker base. Miami Valley Memory Gardens at 1639 East Lytle 5 Points Road in Dayton (937-885-7779) and Avon Resthaven Memory Gardens at 3700 Center Road in Avon (440-236-5086) fit this model. Because these are private sellers, they fall within the registration framework described above.

Catholic and church cemeteries

Dioceses and parishes run many of Ohio's burial grounds. Chardon Catholic Cemeteries Association at 10366 Chardon Road (440-286-7151) and Catholic Cemeteries of Sandusky at 2020 Sanford Street (419-625-2673) are in our listings. Akron Holy Cross Cemetery at 100 East Waterloo Road (330-724-1297) and Toledo Mt Carmel Cemetery at 15 East Manhattan Boulevard (419-241-2015) are others. These offices usually ask for confirmation of parish membership or Catholic faith. They also set their own rules on monuments and plantings.

What to Have Ready Before You Call an Ohio Cemetery Office

A short call goes much faster when you have the right details in front of you. Most offices, from Canton Forest Hill Cemetery on Cleveland Avenue Northwest (330-499-7353) to small township grounds, ask for the same basics:

Season matters in Ohio. Winter frost and snow can slow grave opening, and some rural cemeteries delay burials or add fees in the coldest months. Ask about scheduling when you book. Spring is the busiest time for marker installation, so request an installation date early.

Veterans have a separate option. Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman and Dayton National Cemetery are run by the federal National Cemetery Administration, not by any Ohio cemetery office. Eligibility is decided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and a copy of the discharge paperwork is normally required. Use our listings for local grounds, and use the VA for national cemetery burial.

Government cemeteries in Ohio include facilities administered by the VA's National Cemetery Administration, state veterans cemeteries funded through state and federal partnerships, and local municipal and county cemeteries operated by city and county governments throughout the state.

Cemetery locations are available in 350 cities across Ohio. They are spread across 87 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

Veterans in Ohio may be eligible for burial in a state veterans cemetery at little or no cost. Contact the Ohio Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Services to confirm eligibility requirements and available state-operated facilities.

Cemetery by Counties

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Families and genealogists in Ohio can often request burial records from municipal cemetery offices or search online databases maintained by state archives and historical societies. Many Ohio counties have digitized older cemetery records that are available through county clerk or public library genealogy collections.

Browse Cemetery by county across Ohio to find the nearest location.

Using the Ohio Cemetery Listings for Records, Visits, and Planning Ahead

The listings on this page cover large metropolitan cemeteries and small rural burial grounds. They also include church cemeteries, memory gardens, and at least one pet cemetery. The best way to use them is to match your goal to the right type of operator. If you want a genealogy record, start with the cemetery closest to where your relative lived. In a city like Wooster or Springfield, that may be a municipal or association-run ground, such as Wooster Barton Cemetery at 1740 Cleveland Road (330-287-4500) or Bethel Baptist Cemetery at 6425 New Carlisle Pike (937-882-6871).

If you are arranging a burial, call two or three cemeteries and ask for their written price lists. Compare the same items each time: the grave space, the opening and closing, any vault or liner requirement, and the marker foundation. In Youngstown, for example, Belmont Park Cemetery at 3346 Belmont Avenue (330-759-2764) serves a different neighborhood and price range than the large county-seat cemeteries.

Many Ohio families also visit older cemeteries for remembrance or historical interest. Call before you go, because some small grounds have limited gate hours or no staff on site. Bring a trowel-free approach: gentle cleaning only, soft brushes and plain water, since harsh chemicals and rubbing can damage old stone. Always ask the office before you plant, leave items, or take rubbings.

Finally, remember that phone numbers and hours change. Treat the listing details as a starting point, confirm them by phone, and keep a note of whom you spoke with and when.

Start by writing to the cemetery's management and keeping a copy. Describe the problem, such as a missed burial date, an unexplained charge, or poor upkeep, and say what outcome you want. If you do not get a satisfactory reply, the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing handles cemetery registration under Chapter 4767 of the Revised Code. The Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission, created by that chapter, hears disputes between cemeteries and lot owners. Municipal and township cemeteries are different, so take those complaints to the city or the township trustees.

Begin with the township clerk or trustees where the burial ground sits, since townships hold responsibility for many older or unkept cemeteries under Ohio law. Next, ask the county recorder and county auditor for the parcel record. In Fairfield County, where Lancaster's Forest Rose Cemetery (1238 North Columbus Street, 740-687-6604) and Canal Winchester's Arlington Burial Park (300 Cemetery Road, 614-236-0024) are listed, the county offices can point you to the right owner. Local historical and genealogical societies often know about small family plots too.

Ohio cemeteries commonly separate the cost of the interment right from service charges. Typical extra items are the opening and closing of the grave, a concrete vault or grave liner if the cemetery requires one, and a foundation for the marker. Some also charge for weekend or winter burials. In Lorain County, for instance, Avon Resthaven Memory Gardens and North Murray Ridge Cemetery in Elyria (3280 Murray Ridge Road, 440-322-3896) can each give you an itemized list. Ask for it in writing before you commit.

Yes. Most Ohio cemeteries sell graves before they are needed, and many families buy ahead to keep relatives together. Ask for a deed or certificate of ownership that names the section, lot, and grave. Keep it with your important papers and tell your family where it is. Also ask whether the cemetery sets aside funds for long-term care, what its marker rules are, and whether the right can be transferred to heirs. Staff at places like Sidney Glen Cemetery (17500 Ohio 47, 937-492-2572) can explain their local terms.

Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman and Dayton National Cemetery are the national cemeteries operated by the federal government. They are run by the Department of Veterans Affairs rather than by local Ohio offices, so eligibility and scheduling go through the VA. Have the veteran's discharge paperwork ready. If a family prefers a local cemetery, such as Ashtabula Chestnut Grove Cemetery (79 Grove Drive, 440-997-9551), ask whether it has a veterans' section and what the marker rules are.

Most cemeteries for people do not accept animal remains, so pet owners usually use a dedicated pet cemetery. Our Ohio listings include Brown pet cemetery on Sawyer Road in Columbus, in Franklin County. Since we do not list a phone number for it, check with the operator before you visit. Ask about burial and cremation options, marker rules, and whether you can visit after the burial. Your veterinarian may also be able to recommend a nearby service.