Ivy Lawn Cemetery was the very first Lawn Park Cemetery in Ventura County and was specifically designed to serve the needs of both Ventura and Oxnard. The large expansive grassy areas, the circulation patterns of winding roads, the landscape, the monuments and family mausoleums are elements of the character of the cemetery. A coalition of forces made Ivy Lawn a reality began in the Spring of 1913.
Prominent leading businessmen formed a corporation in 1917 called the Ivy Lawn Cemetery Association. Ivy Lawn is a concentrated collection and microcosm of 19th and 20th century individuals, military veterans, architecture, art iconography and symbolism. The cemetery evolved over the decades it reflected the changing times in both architecture and societal culture. Along with new interments, cemetery records reveal that many people were moved from other cemeteries to Ivy Lawn. From 1917 through 1960’s hundreds of individuals were relocated from the Ventura Cemetery, and nearly of the occupants of the Springville Cemetery. It is notable that at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park the astute business practices and financial guidance of the Board of Directors has enabled the cemetery to remain an independent non-profit corporation directed by community leaders. Today the majority of cemeteries are owned and operated by large for-profit corporations. The current Board of Directors are guided by the same spirit of the founding members and envision Ivy Lawn as a public service. This makes Ivy Lawn Memorial Park unique.
