The grounds display a plethora of limestone, marble, cast zinc and granite monuments.

An iron fence with low stone piers flanking the entrance fronts the cemetery.

[1] The oldest section of Greenwood Cemetery comprises land purchased from the federal government by Dr. Ziba Swan of Albany, New York, in 1821.

The first interments on this one-half-acre parcel, set aside by Swan for a cemetery, occurred in 1825, when Polly Utter and her daughter Cynthia were murdered by Imri Fish, a mentally ill War of 1812 veteran who was boarding with the family.

Greenwood Cemetery contains the remains of some of Oakland County's earliest pioneers and most prominent citizens.