MAPLE GROVE CEMETERY
1000 N. Walnut Street
Dover, Ohio 44622
330.343.0011
Established: 1886
Acres: 40
Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 1 Tombstone
Maple Grove was not one of our “destination” cemeteries. Rather, we stumbled upon it during a trip to visit the J. E. Reeves Victorian Mansion and Carriage House in Dover, Ohio. Taphophile’s that we are, we could not help but diverge from our path to explore. As we discovered, the cemetery is not extraordinary save for one mausoleum, a subject we will return to momentarily.
The entrance, at the intersection of Walnut Street and Slingluff Avenue, leads directly to a Civil War monument around which rows of identical, small white stones stand sentinel. Graves representing deaths from the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919, as well as the graves of children from the city’s orphan’s home, also lie within Maple Grove’s grounds. As regards the later, when the Tuscarawas Children’s Home, a nearby orphanage, was demolished, the bodies of the children who had died while in the facility’s care were removed from the graveyard on the grounds there and reinterred at Maple Grove.
The cemetery has a small community mausoleum near the back of the property. Unfortunately, as is too-often the case, the building was locked. The structure is interesting in that its more modern-looking tan brick exterior is juxtaposed against a much older-looking portico supported by classic ionic columns. Adding to the sense of visual incongruity is the Egyptian motif over the doors. The façade and portico are in keeping with the Victorian aesthetic for cemeteries of the day; however, the brick exterior simply does not fit. Further adding to the mystery is the fact that the portico’s central stone appears to have been replaced. Perhaps the original contained a name or date. Directly beneath it, a bronze plate reading “Mausoleum + 1913” has been affixed to the bricks. Perhaps the portico was part of an older building? We would love to know!
But on to the gem of Maple Grove…the mausoleum we alluded to earlier.
This beautiful building catches the eye easily as it stands out in stark contrast to everything else around it. The large granite structure is carved with banners, wreathes, leaves and other intricately-wrought designs. Its smooth-domed cupola rises to just beneath the branches of a towering oak nearby. The date “1902” surmounts the double bronze doors and, above that, the family name is inscribed: Reeves. Indeed, we had inadvertently stumbled upon the final resting place of the steel magnate whose Victorian mansion we had taken our trip to visit!
A peek inside the mausoleum door provided us with a view of a lovely stained glass window in soothing shades of blue and green. Its central image is a solar, or equal-armed cross, wreathed with lilies and other flowers. Curiously, the banner at the base of the window was left with no inscription.
Beneath the window, set against a white marble crypt, are two meticulously maintained bronze plaques. They read:
Jane Reeves
1847 – 1926
Jeremiah E. Reeves
1845 - 1920
The cool, shaded interior of the mausoleum conveys a sense of peace and relaxation and the overall environment of the building is one not-to-be missed.
While in Dover, a stop in Maple Grove is in order, if for no other reason than to visit the Reeves mausoleum. A trip to the nearby Reeves Mansion is also highly recommended. Fascinating to see both the family’s earthly and after-life abodes, after all.
Finally, might we recommend a stop at Dover’s Toland-Herzig Funeral Home’s “Famous Endings Museum?” The museum bills itself as possessing “the world’s largest known collection of memorabilia from funerals and memorial events.” We found both the collection and its kindly proprietor a delight!
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1000 N. Walnut Street
Dover, Ohio 44622
330.343.0011
Established: 1886
Acres: 40
Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 1 Tombstone
Maple Grove was not one of our “destination” cemeteries. Rather, we stumbled upon it during a trip to visit the J. E. Reeves Victorian Mansion and Carriage House in Dover, Ohio. Taphophile’s that we are, we could not help but diverge from our path to explore. As we discovered, the cemetery is not extraordinary save for one mausoleum, a subject we will return to momentarily.
The entrance, at the intersection of Walnut Street and Slingluff Avenue, leads directly to a Civil War monument around which rows of identical, small white stones stand sentinel. Graves representing deaths from the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919, as well as the graves of children from the city’s orphan’s home, also lie within Maple Grove’s grounds. As regards the later, when the Tuscarawas Children’s Home, a nearby orphanage, was demolished, the bodies of the children who had died while in the facility’s care were removed from the graveyard on the grounds there and reinterred at Maple Grove.
The cemetery has a small community mausoleum near the back of the property. Unfortunately, as is too-often the case, the building was locked. The structure is interesting in that its more modern-looking tan brick exterior is juxtaposed against a much older-looking portico supported by classic ionic columns. Adding to the sense of visual incongruity is the Egyptian motif over the doors. The façade and portico are in keeping with the Victorian aesthetic for cemeteries of the day; however, the brick exterior simply does not fit. Further adding to the mystery is the fact that the portico’s central stone appears to have been replaced. Perhaps the original contained a name or date. Directly beneath it, a bronze plate reading “Mausoleum + 1913” has been affixed to the bricks. Perhaps the portico was part of an older building? We would love to know!
But on to the gem of Maple Grove…the mausoleum we alluded to earlier.
This beautiful building catches the eye easily as it stands out in stark contrast to everything else around it. The large granite structure is carved with banners, wreathes, leaves and other intricately-wrought designs. Its smooth-domed cupola rises to just beneath the branches of a towering oak nearby. The date “1902” surmounts the double bronze doors and, above that, the family name is inscribed: Reeves. Indeed, we had inadvertently stumbled upon the final resting place of the steel magnate whose Victorian mansion we had taken our trip to visit!
A peek inside the mausoleum door provided us with a view of a lovely stained glass window in soothing shades of blue and green. Its central image is a solar, or equal-armed cross, wreathed with lilies and other flowers. Curiously, the banner at the base of the window was left with no inscription.
Beneath the window, set against a white marble crypt, are two meticulously maintained bronze plaques. They read:
Jane Reeves
1847 – 1926
Jeremiah E. Reeves
1845 - 1920
The cool, shaded interior of the mausoleum conveys a sense of peace and relaxation and the overall environment of the building is one not-to-be missed.
While in Dover, a stop in Maple Grove is in order, if for no other reason than to visit the Reeves mausoleum. A trip to the nearby Reeves Mansion is also highly recommended. Fascinating to see both the family’s earthly and after-life abodes, after all.
Finally, might we recommend a stop at Dover’s Toland-Herzig Funeral Home’s “Famous Endings Museum?” The museum bills itself as possessing “the world’s largest known collection of memorabilia from funerals and memorial events.” We found both the collection and its kindly proprietor a delight!
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