COLUMBUS — America 250-Ohio announced that May 25 is the last day the public can submit information to the Revolutionary War Veterans Graves Identification Project database.
Once the grave marker and cemetery collection portal closes at the end of that day, submissions will be locked so that all entries can be reviewed, verified, and finalized ahead of the project’s public release on July 4.
Launched on Memorial Day 2025, the first-of-its-kind statewide project set out to locate, photograph, and map the final resting places of an estimated 7,000 Revolutionary War veterans buried in Ohio.
In nearly a year of public data collection, approximately 350 volunteers have documented more than 4,000 grave markers across the state, representing 1,300 cemeteries in dozens of Ohio counties.
“The nation’s 250th anniversary is the perfect time to bring to life the stories of the Revolutionary War Veterans who called Ohio home, and this collaborative effort with Ohioans across the state has been a major success in doing just that,” said Todd Kleismit, executive director of America 250-Ohio.
Ohio is home to a remarkably large number of Revolutionary War veterans’ graves, despite not being one of the original 13 colonies. After the war, large portions of Ohio’s land were granted to veterans in payment for their service, drawing many of the nation’s first soldiers to the region to settle, farm, and build communities.
The project’s first documented entry was the grave of Nathaniel Massie, a Virginia Militia private who went on to found the city of Chillicothe, located in Grandview Cemetery overlooking the city he helped establish.
How to participate before May 25
Prior to this project, no comprehensive, publicly accessible database existed that mapped the precise locations of these graves. Records compiled over the years by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) identified roughly 6,800 veterans believed to be buried in Ohio, but exact GPS coordinates, current photographs, and condition assessments were largely unavailable to the general public.
“These are the very first veterans of the United States of America,” said Krista Horrocks, historian, cemetery preservationist, and project manager with the Ohio History Connection. “Documentation is the part that will outlive all of us. Gravestones won’t survive forever, but if we can record their location and story today, that information will be here for generations to come.”
Anyone with a smartphone can participate. No historical expertise is required. The steps are simple:
Visit ohiohistory.org/revwargraves to review instructions and explore the map of cemeteries already identified as likely grave sites. Download the free Survey123 app on your smartphone.
Visit a cemetery, photograph the grave marker, record inscriptions, and log GPS coordinates. Submit your entry through the portal before May 25.
Volunteers who do not wish to remain anonymous will be acknowledged by name for their contribution to the effort. Completed survey results will be published July 4. The database will remain live and publicly accessible well beyond the America 250 celebration, maintained by the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office and the Ohio History Connection.
“Every single submission matters,” said Horrocks. “The beauty of this approach is that it empowers anyone who owns a smartphone to contribute meaningful data to the project.”
To learn more, view the live dashboard, or submit information on a grave site, visit ohiohistory.org/revwargraves.
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