Greendale Cemetery entrance, circa 1900. Courtesy Crawford County Historical Society.

history

Meadville was a growing village in northwestern Pennsylvania when its citizens, at the request of municipal leaders, founded Greendale Cemetery to replace the village's older burial ground in 1852. The location of the older cemetery had become contentious not only because the crowded cemetery was insufficient for the village's growing population, but also because it was located on valuable, centrally located land and restricted the direction in which the municipality could grow.

Considerable effort was expended in creating the park and cemetery. The civic project was chartered by private citizens, but was to be administered by an independent board of incorporators and board-elected managers. From the start, the property was operated as a nonprofit service available to the entire community. The cemetery's first Superintendent, Herman Leo, began work on October 30, 1854. Leo, an engineer and a graduate of agricultural school was hired to lay out lots, drives, and walks. He created winding, park-like drives among the 85 acres of sloping hills. Within two years, a house was constructed for the caretaker and other major construction projects would follow over the next two decades.