In 1933, the American Legion adopted a National Graves Registration Plan and three years later, passed a resolution that funding and labor should be provided to carry out the project by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The purpose of the project was to identify and document the burial location of every American who served their country in the military. In 1938, the Ohio American Legion and the Ohio Adjutant General applied and obtained approval for funding through the WPA to conduct a state-wide Veterans Graves Registration Project.

The first step in the project was to identify the location of cemeteries throughout the county. Once a cemetery was identified and located, surveyors were sent to measure the grounds and map the cemetery. After field crews checked and then other project employees verified a veteran’s presence in the cemetery the location of the veteran’s grave was added to the cemetery plot map. In the spring of 1939 the project was completed and afterwards the Ohio General Assembly required the county recorders in each county to maintain and update a list “for the registration of the graves of all persons who were honorably discharged” from military service.

The corresponding Veterans' Burial Cards can be found here: Veterans' Burial Records