Woodlawn Cemetery & Arboretum
Speakers
History, art and nature of Woodlawn Interested in learning more about the history, art and nature of Woodlawn Cemetery and Arboretum? We’d love to come speak at your next meeting.
For a $60 honorarium, an experienced and engaging Woodlawn speaker will visit your event, bringing along a laptop, projector and PowerPoint presentation. You need only supply a screen and audio equipment if required. Here are a few of the subjects we could cover:
- Notables of Woodlawn
- The History, Art and Nature of Woodlawn
- Women of Woodlawn
Call 419-472-2186 and ask for our Director of Outreach or register online to schedule a speaker for your next event.
Tours at Woodlawn
Our 90-minute public docent tours are schedules throughout May and October. Tree and Tombstone Tours are scheduled for the third Sunday in May and the first Sunday in October and are an opportunity to experience our arboretum, as well as, our history. Summer Evening Strolls, the second Thursday of June, July and August give you a tour at twilight.
We now offer a free self-guided tour. This site is optimized for your mobile phone to help you explore Woodlawn’s rich history and discover the final resting places of distinguished Toledoans with familiar names like Secor, Reynolds, Flower, Libbey, and Tiedke. Guests can use this self-guided tour to view pictures, biographies and multimedia relating to the residents interred at Woodlawn. You can start and stop wherever you wish. Click here to learn more: https://www.woodlawntour.com
Events
2025 Events . . . The History, Nature, and Art of Woodlawn
Visitors are welcome to step back into history and experience Woodlawn’s beautiful blend of nature and art: one hundred and sixty acres of stately trees and statuary. With our schedule of annual, seasonal, and collaborative events, Woodlawn preserves its historic roots as we move forward to restoration.
Birds of Woodlawn - each Friday from 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Join us each week as we document the Birds of Woodlawn. From migrating to nesting birds, we will explore many natural habitats. From beginners to experienced birders, all our welcome. Please bring binoculars and bird guides, if you have them. Meet us at the Hillcrest Entrance.
Spend the evenings discovering trees. With over 100 different species of trees at Woodlawn, it can be tricky to tell them apart! On the tree identification walks, participants will be focusing on the subtle but easy cues that lead directly to identifying a tree. Learn techniques on diagnosing some common (and maybe not so common) tree problems. Which ones need immediate attention and which ones are just cosmetic and won't compromise the health of the tree. We will be meeting at three different locations within the Cemetery to highlight all the Arboretum throughout the series.
September 23 from 6 to 7:30 pm, Meet at the Hillcrest Avenue Entrance
October 28 from 5 to 6:30 pm. Meet at Overland Bike Trail
November 25 from 3 to 4:30 pm, Meet at the Main Entrance on Central Avenue
Woodlawn Walkers - each Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. May 7th - October 1st
Whether you’re interested in a stroll or a power walk, join us each Wednesday on a two-mile path around Woodlawn. Drop in for one week or all four months. Get healthy and rejuvenated as you walk among the beautiful arboretum and the historical architectural features. Each participant will get a walking log to keep track of their progress.
Fall Tree and Tombstone Tours: October 5th - 1:00 - 2:30pm
The beauty of Woodlawn may change with the seasons, but its rich history is constant. The many family stories contained within its gates are literally etched in stone. The 90 minutes of leisurely walking, accompanied by our knowledgeable naturalist and historians through our nationally recognized arboretum tells our community history.
Forest Cemetery
Tree and Tombstone - 2nd Fridays: June – September
June 20th, July 11th, August 8th and September 12th
Saturday, October 11th - 10:00 - 11:00am
1704 Mulberry St., Toledo, OH
11:00 am – Noon Refreshments and Information / NOON: Tree Planting - Urban Forestry Teen Tree Program
Join OSU Extension Educator, Amy Stone to explore the Trees of Forest Cemetery, along with Forest Cemetery historians to hear family stories contained within its gates are literally etched in stone. Meet at the Main gates.
Click here or fill out the form below to register or fill out the form below.
Tribute to the Past: Architectural Features of Woodlawn
Woodlawn Cemetery is maintained in the "rural cemetery" spirit in which it was founded 125 years ago. Everything in it is as Adolph Strauch, creator of the landscape lawn plan for cemeteries, said of nineteenth-century rural cemeteries, "tasteful, classical, and poetical".
The cemetery’s designation as a National Historic Site was largely in recognition of its many turn-of-the-century buildings, unique monuments and ornate ironwork.
The 42 private family mausoleums on the grounds of Woodlawn date back to the 1880s. Many of Toledo’s most prominent families have erected mausoleums here, including the Stranahans, Berdans, Chesbroughs, Spitzers and Snyders.
The mausoleums represent a wide range of architectural styles, from Classical and Neo-Classical, to late Gothic and Egyptian Revivals. Victorian Fad monuments, which resembled tree trunks with all the branches cut off and were meant to symbolize an unfinished life, also appear. The grounds are also home to some unique personal representations, like the Gunckel pyramid (1917), the Bessie Ludwig chair monument (1930) and the GAR Civil War monument (1901).
Administration Building
Built in 1903 in the Romanesque style, this irregular and unusual structure is dominated by a bell tower, which is believed to be the center remains of a late nineteenth century windmill that was located on the site. The belfry is similar to a battlement and has a large square window on its front and rear, while on each side, there is an arched window.
The office building itself wraps around the tower and has retained its historical integrity, appearing on the outside just as it did when it was built. Its walls are of rock-faced coursed Ohio limestone topped by a slate roof. The tradition of tolling the bell to signal the arrival of a funeral procession continues today.
