Prospect Hill Cemetery: Prospect Hill Cemetery was founded in 1858 by the German Evangelical Society, a men’s organization from Concordia Church.

Prospect Hill Cemetery grew quickly upon its establishment in 1858 by the German Evangelical Society, a men’s organization from Concordia Church. As with other cemeteries at the time, District law forbade the expansion of burying grounds within Washington City limits. However, plenty of available land existed in Washington County (generally north of today's Florida Avenue). The German Evangelical Society purchased 17 acres along what is now Lincoln Road, immediately south of Glenwood Cemetery, which had been established only four years earlier.

Prospect Hill is notable for its distinctive design that embodies the Romantic landscape architecture of the Victorian era. It is a relatively early example of the garden cemeteries created and popularized in the United States beginning in the 1830s.

The picturesque plan and the arrangement and character of Prospect Hill's markers and mausoleums are similar to the adjacent Glenwood Cemetery (1854) and nearby Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery (1869). The collection of markers are notable as well: marble or limestone headstones became ubiquitous in this region during the mid-19th century. Later, the inclusion of larger and more elaborate monuments (including sculpture based headstones) began to appear in the cemetery.

Today, Prospect Hill remains an active cemetery and has moved away from exclusively Lutheran burials.

DC Inventory: March 24, 2005