1-31-2026 3:55pm

Who Was Col. Andrew De Graff?

Beth Callahan Editor

Picture: Etching of Col. Andrew De Graff published by the St. Paul Globe, 11/8/1894

Courtesy of Misti Spillman, Manager, Preservation and Community Outreach Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum. Living here in Warren County, we are fortunate to be between the two larger cities of Dayton and Cincinnati. This allows us to not only share in both of these city's accomplishments, but in their residents. And, believe it or not, one way of learning about these people can often be found in historical cemeteries. Dayton, Ohio's Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, which is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the United States, is filled with history. And, this January the WarrenCountyPost.com has been given the privilege to publish a piece from Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum about Col. Andrew De Graff

About an hour north of Dayton is the town of DeGraff, Ohio, named for “The Railway King” himself: Col. Andrew De Graff; remembered as a “marked man of the nation,” “builder of railroads, elevators and projector of great schemes,” and “one of the most notable characters in the growth of the northwest.”

So, who was Col. De Graff? To learn more, we turn to his obituary published November 8, 1894 in The Saint Paul Globe...

No one could see Col. De Graff, even in his broken condition, and not realize that he was one among many thousands – a man marked by nature with force and keen and broad insight. He was a man of affairs. No one could see him and not realize that he was, or had been.

Standing considerably over six feet tall, with square, broad shoulders, possessing a handsome, strong, magnetic countenance, clear keen eyes, rather heavy eyebrows, hair black and only tinged with gray even to his dying day, he was a most commanding figure wherever seen. Up to his last appearance walking about, even in his declined condition of mind, he stood as straight as an arrow, and seemed to thrill with the inspiration of youth.

For more than fifty years he was a great organizer of great schemes, such as railroads, elevator projects, etc. He began in Ohio, and came eventually to Minnesota, not giving up his prodigious schemes in the former state. At the time of his death he was a heavy stockholder in great projects in both Ohio and Minnesota and in several other states.

The funeral arrangements are not yet made.”

"Andrew De Graff, or Col. De Graff, as he has always familiarly been called, has long been an important figure in the Northwest. All that region tributary to the Mississippi owes much of its present prosperity to the shrewd foresight of Col. De Graff, who was quick to perceive the necessity of railroads for the rapid transportation of the rich products of this fertile region. Under his able generalship lines of rail were constructed all over this entire district, and over thirty years ago Col. De Graff received the well-earned title of 'Railroad King of Ohio.'”

“Within a half century this notable man has seen little villages expand and grow into large and important cities. Under his watchful eye thinly settled territories have grown into great and populous commonwealths. His field of operation in the way of railroad construction has extended over no less than a dozen states. With the iron arteries of commerce he united these states. His foresight told him that this vast and fertile region would someday become the seat of a new empire, where millions would find prosperous and happy homes.”

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum Visitors may ask, “Is there a De Graff Mausoleum?”

Yes and no... for there used to be one. This short article published by the Dayton Herald in 1899 reveals the key piece of information:

In 1873, Col. De Graff’s son Charles purchased the family lot for $2,688.60, including perpetual care from the cemetery. About 10 years after Charles died, the shifting & settling of the soil caused the mausoleum walls to crack, which is why his younger sister, Minnesota De Graff (called ‘Minnie’ for short) chose to have it torn down, and the family reinterred on the lot. For whatever reason, after the demolition of the family mausoleum, no headstones or markers were ever put in place.

Today, the De Graff family lot is a peaceful grassy space overlooking the eastern edge of the cemetery, with a great view of the pond. Visitors can find this lot in section 106, lot 1798.