Oak Grove Cemetery in Bowling Green, Ohio was established in 1872 when the town committee purchased land for a new cemetery. The cemetery was designed by John Shannon, the mayor of Bowling Green, in concentric circles radiating from the center, based on the design of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Shannon, a Civil War veteran, was committed to honoring veterans at Oak Grove and proposed a memorial in the center of the cemetery, though it was never constructed. He was later buried at Oak Grove facing the proposed veterans memorial site.