Mayfield Cemetery
Looking northwest through Mayfield Cemetery
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | July 31, 1887 |
| Location | Cleveland Heights, Ohio |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°30′50″N 81°34′56″W / 41.513861°N 81.582283°WCoordinates: 41°30′50″N 81°34′56″W / 41.513861°N 81.582283°W |
| Type | Private |
| Owned by | United Jewish Cemeteries of Cleveland |
| Size | 21 acres (85,000 m2) |
| No. of graves | 12,000 (2007) |
| Find a Grave | Mayfield Cemetery |
| The Political Graveyard | Mayfield Cemetery |
Mayfield Cemetery is a historic Jewish cemetery located at 2749 Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Established in 1870, it is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Cuyahoga County and the only Jewish garden cemetery. A chapel was constructed in 1893. This was demolished and a large mausoleum, which included a chapel, was built in 1930.
In 1839, members of the Jewish faith in Cleveland, Ohio, formed the city's first permanent worship community, the Israelitic Society of Cleveland. On July 7, 1840, the Israelitic Society purchased 1 acre (4,000 m2) of land on Willett Street (now Fulton Street) in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland. The Willett Street Cemetery became Cleveland's oldest Jewish burying ground.
German Orthodox members of the society left to form a new congregation, Anshe Chesed, in 1841. The Israelitic Society merged into Anshe Chesed in 1845, and a year later the congregation erected a synagogue on Eagle Street. A portion of Anshe Chesed's members left to form their own temple, Tifereth Israel, in 1850, and in 1853 bought 0.5 acres (2,000 m2) of land adjacent to the Willett Street Cemetery to form their own burying ground.
Tirereth Israel's congregation grew swiftly over the next 30 years, and it was clear that the Willett Street Cemetery would not be able to accommodate burial needs for any length of time. Due to Ohio City's rapid growth, no land was available for expansion. On July 31, 1887, Tifereth Israel purchased 20.649 acres (83,560 m2) of land on Mayfield Road in East Cleveland Township (now a part of Cleveland Heights) for the establishment of a new cemetery. It was laid out as a garden cemetery, with winding paths and roads and extensive landscape plantings. Tifereth Israel and Anshe Chesed created a new organization, United Jewish Cemeteries of Cleveland, to own, operate, and maintain the cemetery on July 6, 1890.
In 1892, construction began on a small chapel at Mayfield Cemetery to accommodate funeral services and matzevah services for dedicating headstones or grave markers. It was designed by architects Israel Lehman and Theodore Schmitt of the firm Lehman and Schmitt. Construction on the $11,000 structure began about May 1892, and it was expected to be dedicated on Thanksgiving Day in November 1892, about the same time that Rabbi Moses J. Gries took up his duties as the leader of Tifereth Israel. But dedication was put off until Memorial Day on May 30, 1893, this day (it was felt) being more appropriate to the dedication of a funeral chapel. The one-story, brick and stone structure measured 50 by 53 feet (15 by 16 m) in size. The octagonal stone structure seated 200. The firm also designed a receiving vault. It was renovated in 1913 at a cost of $10,000.
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