Historic Woodlawn Cemetery was recognized as a National Historic site in 1998. The overall landscape design, which follows the principles of the rural cemetery movement, is a significant feature of the district and has been counted as a site. Woodlawn Cemetery has maintained its integrity as a fine example of the "rural cemetery" plan. The rural cemetery incorporates the natural beauty of the landscape with carefully planned lots, and this is what the founders of Woodlawn Cemetery had in mind when they chose the present site. The cemetery association has been careful to maintain the natural landscape and high quality grave markers. Kirk Holdcroft, current Director of the cemetery (1993) and President of the Board of Trustees (1994), is committed to ensuring the cemetery continues in this tradition.
*What is a necrology? In short, it means "obituary" (Meriam- Webster), a "list of deaths" (Oxford), or a notice of deaths including a biography (vocabulary.com). In older practices (e.g., in monsteries, cemeteries), necrologies were "registers containing the entries of deaths of persons connected with, or commemorated by" an institution or organization (based on a definition in The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, 1970)
About the University of Toledo's Historic Woodlawn Cemetery Project (1995)
The Lewis Catacomb
During the 1995 winter term, members of Dr. Diane Britton's public history practicum class at the University of Toledo researched and wrote a history of Woodlawn Cemetery. Students worked with sources at the cemetery's administrative offices, the local history collection of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, the Toledo Blade, the University of Toledo's Canaday Center Archives, and the Lucas County Auditor's Office. They also conducted field surveys and spoke with people in the community familiar with the cemetery's past. The study of Woodlawn provides an example of the way that public history at the University of Toledo focuses on community outreach activities and cooperative projects. The program emphasizes the application of historical knowledge and methodology beyond academe that encourages a consideration of the past in daily life. As a cultural and historical institution, Woodlawn Cemetery tells us much about Toledo's past and provides an important resource for studying local history.
Woodlawn Necrology Index