The past year was a good one for Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Not only did it mark the historic, 269-acre cemetery’s 175th anniversary, but it also was named the American Cemetery Excellence winner of 2025 by the American Cemetery and Cremation industry publication.
Forest Lawn’s commemoration of the anniversary was a major factor in the winning of the award. It included a year-long series of events that ran from August 2024—marking the purchase of the original 80 acres of land by Charles and Mary Anna Clarke on Aug. 10, 1849—through July 2025, which marked the first recorded burial, of a local merchant named John Lay, on July 12, 1850.
“There was a designed buildup, a progression of events, and a deft use of the media that opened new eyes and set a standard for how any cemetery can transform a single celebration into a year of exposure,” writes American Cemetery and Cremation in its December 2025 issue. “All this was done, it must be said, while managing active burial services and the highest-volume crematory in Western New York.”
Jennifer Kovach, executive administrative assistant for the Forest Lawn Cemetery Group, says the decision to make the celebration more extensive than a single event was an intentional one.
“We wanted to make it very accessible for everybody in the community,” she explains. “So, we didn't want to only do a gala where you're only going to have 200 people in attendance and a ticketed price. We tried to do a wide variety of events at multiple different price points that anybody could participate in.”
One of the most popular events of the year was Fall in the Forest, which took place in October. It was free to attend and included vendors, food trucks and (for a nominal fee) horse and carriage rides throughout the cemetery.
“It kind of hearkened back to how the grounds were originally a place for people to come and picnic,” Kovach says. “Forest Lawn predates Delaware Park, so people would come here and gather because Buffalo didn’t have a park system yet.”
Being a community space is still core to Forest Lawn’s identity, and these events were a chance to reengage with Buffalonians.
“We wanted to bring people back in the gates and show them everything that Forest Lawn has to offer,” Kovach says. “You can still come here even if you don't have a loved one buried here. We're open 365 days a year.”
The anniversary didn't just commemorate the past—it looked to the future. During the course of the year, Forest Lawn announced plans for a new mausoleum, which is planned to open in June. Space reservations are available now.
The cemetery—already a Level 1 Arboretum featuring more than 4,000 trees—is also working to advance to Level 2 status. They have an additional goal of planting 2,000 trees over two decades. That effort will focus on restoring the canopy, which has seen losses over the years to storms and disease.
Kovach says that achievement will be part of the cemetery’s bicentennial—after all, it’s only 25 years away.
“That canopy will be restored, and that's going to be the legacy of, ‘OK, they started this work at the 175th, now it's the 200th,’” she says. “This is something to be proud of.”
