Glendale Cemetery

Founded in 1839, Glendale Cemetery was originally called the Akron Rural Cemetery. Winding avenues named for trees and graceful, varied architectural styles on memorials and monuments render it a quiet retreat within the city.

Records of the deceased reveal much of the past, including those whose fates were linked to the layout of the city or the limitations of medicine. More than a few laid to rest here drowned in the city’s canals. Many of the women buried here from the 19th century died in childbirth. And quite a few graves from the same period attest to the high mortality rate among infants and young children. In an age prior to the discovery of antibiotics, other frequent causes of death included scarlet fever, consumption (tuberculosis), cholera and influenza. Much can be learned of the past from Glendale Cemetery, which achieved placement in the National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s.