City grant to expand signage, public use
of Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum
COVINGTON, Ky. – Buried beneath the largest patch of green in Covington’s urban core is a good deal of the city’s – and Kenton County’s – history.
Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum stretches across 22.3 acres along Holman Street, just south of 13th Street, and is the final resting place of numerous local notables. Among them: Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans; Dr. Louise Southgate, an early advocate of women’s reproductive health; four U.S. Congressmen; B.F. Howard, the founder of the African American Elks; and Thomas Kennedy, who owned what is now the Licking Riverside Historic District.
It's a park-like space where history, nature, and community meet. In addition to the historic figures buried throughout its grounds, there are 350 trees and shrubs of 135 different species, varieties, and cultivars rooted and maintained in its grounds.
Simply put, it’s a gem within the city, albeit one that’s often forgotten.
“Linden Grove is one of the many hidden treasures in the city’s urban core,” said Covington Neighborhood Services Assistant Director Keith Bales. “The history of Covington’s founders can be found on countless markers within its tree-lined grounds. It’s an example of a Covington iconic institution often unappreciated by those who reside outside of the Peaselburg and Westside neighborhoods, but it’s very much worth exploring.”
The cemetery’s Board of Overseers wants to make sure that Linden Grove’s relevance and natural beauty aren’t buried along with its historic notables.
Toward that end, a $5,000 award from the City of Covington’s Neighborhood Grant Program will fund new signage throughout the cemetery as a way to increase awareness and inform the region about both its history and horticultural attractions.
“There are a whole lot of people out there in Kenton County who don’t know about Linden Grove, and we need to make them aware,” said Peter Nerone, chairman of the board. “We want others to come walk this dream with us.”
The Board of Overseers and Superintendent Rick Ludlum applied for the grant to pay for signage that would specifically enhance the educational utility of the space, with emphasis on local history and native plants. It was one of 11 projects chosen by the Covington Board of Commissioners in April to receive grants.
The grant will go toward creating:
- Bilingual signage that identifies existing trees and shrubs and includes QR codes to provide more detailed information about plant specimens. The QR codes will also allow Linden Grove to track patronage.
- “Did You Know” signage that will identify selected graves and other points of historical interest.
- An “introductory sign” to explain the new installation of signs and their benefits to patrons.
The board hopes the new signage will increase citizen usage by making each visit informative to casual walkers, school groups, and historians and thus will ultimately help Linden Grove’s efforts to preserve and enhance what is usable community green space within the city.
But even while the board plans to develop the green space into a more hospitable and park-like environment, the integrity of the cemetery will be maintained.
“The important part of this is that Linden Grove is not like Goebel Park,” said Tony Noll, a board member. “Even though it’s green space, it’s passive recreation. It is sacred ground, and we never want to lose sight of that.”
Noll said that when he first became involved with Linden Grove, many neighbors thought it hurt their property values.
“I think they feel the opposite now,” Noll said. “I think they see it as an asset to their home value.”
Fritz Kuhlman purchased his home near Linden Grove from the Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington in 2015. He has since seen 10 to 12 houses near the cemetery purchased and rehabbed.
“It’s beautiful,” Kuhlman said. “Linden Grove is the only green space in this part of the city. It’s a terrific place. This part of the Westside is really coming along nicely.”
Longer term, the cemetery’s story is one of a bucolic beauty that fell to neglect and disrepair before finally receiving due attention.
Linden Grove was officially consecrated on Sept. 18, 1843, on land that was originally owned by the Western Baptist Theological Institute. Benjamin Grove, a landscape gardener, designed the cemetery’s layout.
Political notables such as John G. Carlisle, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, are buried in Linden Grove, as are U.S. Reps. William Evans Arthur, John Menzies, and William Wright Southgate. Others include Brigadier Gen. John W. Finnell, Kentucky’s Adjutant General during the Civil War; Dr. Adam D. Kelly, an early African American physician in Covington; and jockey Andrew Mack Garner, who won the 1934 Kentucky Derby.
Over the years, the cemetery fell into neglect and disrepair, warranting an order by the Kenton County Circuit Court in 1948 placing the property into receivership. Until 1998, the maintenance and financial management fell to a series of trustees appointed by the court. When that system proved ineffective, the City of Covington and the Kenton County Fiscal Court executed a formal inter-local agreement for the care and maintenance of Linden Grove and established the Board of Overseers to operate it. Its income is significantly supplemented in equal parts by the City and Kenton County Fiscal Court.
The cemetery’s trajectory has been upward, particularly under the leadership of Ludlum, who served on the cemetery’s board for 12 years before taking charge of the grounds in 2019. Under his care, Linden Grove has secured Level 1 Arboretum status; upgraded its equipment fleet; repaired, reset, and maintained headstones; and collaborated with neighborhood groups to establish family-friendly events for residents. In 2001, Linden Grove was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The cemetery’s Adopt-A-Plot program helps with fiscal support.
All the while, its doors remain open for the public to walk along its paths and enjoy the peaceful setting. The entrance – at 401 W. 13th St. – is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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