Greendale Cemetery is gearing up for a history-making season.

Having been selected as one of 2007’s “Heroes of Horticulture” by the Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation and featured in a recent issue of Garden Design magazine, the historic property — and its spectacular rhododendrons, of course — is being added to “Places to see” lists across the country.

Touring Greendale is an activity that John S. Werle, president of the Greendale Cemetery Board, would like area residents to think of as an annual tradition, too. In fact, in an effort to entice people to visit the Randolph Street cemetery early and often, the board is sponsoring a photo contest with cash prizes of $100 for first, $50 for second and $25 for third place. Photos must be submitted no later than Nov. 1. With the exception of spectacular winter shots, which may have been taken during the chilly months of previous years, all photos should be taken during 2008. Entry details are available at www.greendalecemetery.org.

“The reason for the photo contest was to get folks up there now — and capture the essence of the cemetery with the hopes of having an attractive display of photos, hopefully from different seasons, that we can display around town to publicize the cemetery,” Werle said, noting that creating a calendar featuring submitted photographs may also be a possibility.

For anyone who doesn’t feel totally comfortable wandering around in a cemetery, a bit of local history may be helpful. When the nonprofit, public Greendale Cemetery was founded in 1852 by a group of the community’s leading citizens, it was incorporated as the Meadville Cemetery. A year later, when it became Greendale Cemetery, it was designated as both a park and a burial ground.

More than a century and a half later, as the burial place for more than 21,000 — including inventors, a Supreme Court justice and the personal physician to George Washington, and covering more than 200 acres — the facility has grown into an outdoor museum. In fact, “We’re slowly going to transform this into a walking tour-type park, with lots of maps and signs so people can come through and find the important people buried in our cemetery,” superintendent Jim Vogan said Tuesday. “There’s so much history here, but you’ve got to know where it’s at.”

Although it was chartered by private citizens, Greendale is administered by an independent board of incorporators, which now numbers approximately 40, and an 11-member board of managers, which is responsible for finances as well as the upkeep of the cemetery itself.

Plans for a capital campaign are in the works, according to Werle, but donations are also being gratefully accepted.

“The infrastructure is deteriorating,” he said. “It needs tended to.”

Two of the major projects that must be funded in the near future are the roads, which are constantly being washed away, and the archway leading into the cemetery. Built in 1865 at a cost of $315, the archway, according to Werle, “is showing signs of deterioration — huge cracks — and it needs to be fixed.”

YOU CAN HELP

Contributions to the not-for-profit Greendale Cemetery can be sent to Greendale Cemetery, 700 Randolph St., Meadville, Pa. 16335. Checks should be made payable to Greendale Cemetery.