Baxter Cemetery

Baxter Cemetery has 89 burials and is maintained by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

Brett Cochran, Cemetery Operations Manager

  • The Bohemian Jewish Cemetery Association was founded in 1873 and in 1877 purchased property on Baxter Street. The congregation met in private homes but in 1883 had a temple on E. 40th Street. As their members moved away from the center of the city the number of people using the synagogue dropped dramatically and after thirty-five years disbanded.
  • The last burial was in 1942. When the congregation disbanded in 1918, there was no longer an official caretaker for the cemetery. Interested individuals tried maintaining the cemetery on their own, but it soon was in a state of disrepair. At that point (mid 1950’s-1960) the Jewish Federation agreed to care for the plot; it continues to do so.

Excerpts above taken from “CEMETERIES of Northeast Ohio” by Vicki Blum Vigil

  • Baxter Cemetery is listed by the city of Cleveland as a Historic Landmark within Slavic Village.

The cemetery is surrounded by a fence with a locked gate. Family members or visitors wishing to gain access to the cemetery should call the Federation.