Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery

Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery is the second national cemetery built in Ohio and the 119th in the national cemetery system.

Currently, there are more than one million veterans living in the State of Ohio and approximately 540,000 residing in the cemetery’s service area. The first phase of construction, covering 65 acres of the 274-acre cemetery, included 15,900 gravesites, 2,000 columbaria niches and 1,000 in-ground garden niches for cremated remains. At full capacity, Ohio Western Reserve can provide burial space for 106,000 eligible veterans and dependents, well into the next century.

Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery lies approximately 45 miles south of Cleveland in Medina County near the town of Rittman. The cemetery’s name refers to the part of the Northwest Territory formerly known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, a tract of land in Northeast Ohio reserved by the State of Connecticut when it ceded its claims for western lands to the U.S. government in 1786.

Monuments and Memorials
Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery features a pathway that is lined with memorials that honor America’s veterans, which have been donated by various organizations. As of 2007, there were 103 memorials, most commemorating events and troops of 20th century wars.