Photo © Fredrik Marsh

history continued

Spring Grove’s Baldcypress Grove has been subject to many storms since their planting, with two major storms having posed significant threats.  During the first storm, in 1977, temperatures dropped to a record-setting -27º F. The second major storm occurred in June of 1993 and destroyed over 400 trees on the grounds. Spring Grove staff spent six months cleaning the grounds after the storm. While the average downed tree had a 40 inch trunk diameter, not one Baldcypress in the grove was uprooted.

In 1987, Spring Grove officially changed its name to "Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum" to include the expansive collection of both native and exotic plan materials as well as its State and National Champion Trees and its Centenarian Collection. The site, including the Baldcypress Grove, was designated a National Historic Landmark in March 2007.

Since its founding over 150 years ago, Spring Grove has remained a leader in cemetery design and management. The landscape "lawn plan" concept was created at the cemetery and, although it was considered a radical concept of cemetery design at that time, it later became accepted almost universally as the model plan. Spring Grove remains a masterwork of landscape architecture and is studied by horticulturists and admired by thousands of visitors each year. It has become one of the largest, non-profit cemeteries in the United States, encompassing 733 acres of which 400 acres are beautifully landscaped and maintained.