The corporation raised money through contributions by prominent citizens and purchased 23 acres of land from Joseph L. Taylor located one and a half miles north of West Chester for the cemetery.

Interest in the cemetery rose as a result, and by their 1855 annual meeting, the incorporators could boast of fifty-two burials, including thirty-six transfers from other graveyards.

[7] As burials increased, the incorporators laid roads, created a small lake, and built a receiving vault, sexton's cottage, and stone gateway for the new cemetery.

Towering trees and winding paths made this garden cemetery "one of the most attractive places in the vicinity," according to the state board of trade.

[8] It is now the Chestnut Grove Cemetery Annex and as of 1910 consisted of ten acres of land owned and managed by African American residents.