The Independent Order of Odd Fellows established the Mt. Washington Cemetery in 1855, but walked away from the cemetery 's care when there were no more funds for its upkeep. The cemetery's care fell to the City of Cincinnati, but they did nothing to care for the cemetery for eight years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It became a blighted area in Mt. Washington. In 1985, a small group of Mt. Washington residents formed the non-profit Mt. Washington Cemetery Association to raise funds for and to voluntarily work to care for the cemetery. For forty years, donations, volunteer work, grave sales, grants, tour proceeds and other fundraisers have taken the cemetery from blight to beauty. Hundreds of trees and shrubs and many gardens have been planted in the cemetery over the past forty years and the Mt. Washington Cemetery is now a nationally recognized arboretum.