Exploring Almost Forgotten Gravesites in the Great State of Ohio

Dedicated to cemetery preservation in the great state of Ohio


"A cemetery may be considered as abandoned when all or practically all of the bodies have been Removed therefrom and no bodies have been buried therein for a great many years, and the cemetery has been so long neglected as entirely to lose its identity as such, and is no longer known, recognized and respected by the public as a cemetery. 1953 OAG 2978."

Friday, May 25, 2018

Volunteers take care of overgrown cemetery with lawn mowers and trimmers

Volunteers take care of overgrown cemetery with lawn mowers and trimmers: The church that owned Jackson Cemetery closed three years ago, and no entity is in charge of keeping it tidy.
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The Coitsville Presbyterian Jackson Cemetery on Find A Grave 
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Sharing this wonderful news update just one day after the story first aired on the same TV channel abut this cemetery's sad deteriorated condition. 

This is another active cemetery in crisis with no legal owner.

The results prove the power of the media to spread the word about a cemetery and its gravesites in a state of abandonment.  It's only hope dependant on more pairs of hands -- those of volunteers who are selfless and choose to participate in making a difference.  

Congratulations go out to all of those volunteers who saw the first story and chose to become active in saving their community's cemetery from certain further deterioration otherwise. 

Veteran helps clean Rossville cemetery

Veteran helps clean Rossville cemetery

County to honor local veterans

County to honor local veterans

For Fayette County, Ohio for Memorial Day weekend.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Grave Markers' Epitaphs Tell Life Stories if we only linger awhile to read them

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Sharing a story of why gravemarkers matter!  
How epitaphs reveal important details about those whom they memorialize.  
Poems and symbols tell powerful stories to those who linger awhile to read them.
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Please linger awhile at your community's cemetery and spend time reading the gravemarkers of veterans this Memorial Day weekend.  
Learn about their lives and the sacrifices they made that have kept America free.
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Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Sharing a link by the Greenfield Historical Society to photographs taken at the May 15th Volunteer Work Session at the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield


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"Volunteer Session - May 15, 2018"

"Small in numbers, but big in progress! That sums up our work session at the cemetery on May 15. We tried working in the shade as much as we could to avoid the heat and were able to straighten and repair a number of stones. 

Joining in were Scott Andersen, John King, Mike Anderson, and Harold Schmidt. Venus Andersen had another commitment, but was able to stop by with cold drinks.

Many thanks to ALL the volunteers who help throughout the years making this a very successful project.

More sessions will be planned for the future to continue this massive effort. 
If you would like to participate, check our website calendar for the next scheduled session."
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This all-volunteer project started in 2014; and it is now in its fifth year! 
So many discoveries have been made!  Many rows of grave markers have been cleaned, repaired, or reset.  

This ongoing effort illustrates just how much can be accomplished by dedicated volunteers who have stayed the course over several work sessions.  They are truly an inspiration to any person or group who hopes to follow in their footsteps at a cemetery that needs to be restored and preserved.  

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Mount Gilead to celebrate traditional Memorial Day

Mount Gilead to celebrate traditional Memorial Day

Both Old Greencastle and New Greencastle Cemeteries in Dayton Rely on Volunteers to Get Needed Clean Up Help

Sharing this TV news story from WHIOTV Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio.:
The news video tells the most current situation showing just how severely neglected the grounds are surrounding the gravesites at the New Greencastle Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.  Thankfully, volunteer landscapers have stepped in to do the job the owners of the cemetery have failed to do on a regular ongoing basis.
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The New Greencastle Cemetery, which is an active cemetery, has a lapsed registration per the Ohio Department of Commerce's website:

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From the "Dayton Daily News" Report of September 23, 2016:
"Cemetery Supt. Headstone Concerns Unfounded"
by Mark Gokavi, Staff Writer

Excerpt:“It’s not going to look like a million-dollar cemetery,” Boykins said. “We’re there to serve a purpose for that community.”


Harrison Township Cemetery Association / Greencastle Cemetery Records


Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives
Phone: 937-775-2092

http://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/



Harrison Township Cemetery Association


1868-2005


1940-1989


6 linear feet (3 boxes)


The collection contains handwritten and typed documents of burial plots and grave records, maps, financial reports and receipts, deeds, ledgers, meeting minutes, photographs, and correspondence. The records pertain to both New Greencastle Cemetery and Old Greencastle Cemetery, which are burial grounds of some of the founders of Dayton.


MS-366


The records are in English

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Resources for Old Greencastle Cemetery:

Monday, May 14, 2018

Spotlighting the Parma Heights Cemetery, Cuyahoga County, Ohio - New Veterans' Identification Blocks Being Installed for Veterans

Sharing this news story published on "Cleveland.com" from the "Parma / Parma Heights Community Blog" by Mr. John Benson about the new Veteran Identification Blocks being installed by veteran gravesites at the Parma Heights Cemetery on Pearl Road.  


From the news story:
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The Parma Heights Historical Society is creating plaques for veteran graves at the Parma Heights Cemetery. (Photo courtesy of the Parma Heights Historical Society)"



Thursday, May 10, 2018

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Sharing from Heritage Avon Lake (Lorain County) - Monday, May 14th, 2018 - At 1:00p.m. Mary Milne: Epitaphs and Icons: Interpreting Gravestones




"Memorializing the dead with grave markers, headstones and tombstones, family burial plots were marked with rough stones, rocks or wood as a way to keep the dead from rising.  The deceased’s name, age and year of death were inscribed.  From 1650-1900 square shaped tombstones from slate and sandstone evolved with churchyard burials.  During the Victorian era (1837-1901) lavish and decorated gravestones included sculptured designs, artwork and symbols.  Marble, granite, iron and wood were popular materials from 1780 to the present. 


Mary Milne, professional genealogist, presents Epitaphs and Icons: Interpreting Gravestones on Monday, May 14, 2018 at the Avon Lake Public Library’s Waugaman Gallery.  She has investigated cemetery records, carvings, and statues that provide clues to aid genealogy research.  Learn how to interpret often-overlooked messages on gravestones. 

All events, which are free, will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Waugaman Gallery at Avon Lake Public Library, 32649 Electric Blvd.

Heritage Avon Lake is a local history organization that collects, preserves, and promotes oral, written, and physical history. For more information, visit www.heritageavonlake.org or call 440.549.4425."

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

REMINDER: Next Hands-On Volunteer Cemetery Preservation Work Session at the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield is Tuesday, May 15th - starting at 9:00a.m.


Reminder:  The Next Volunteer Hands-On Cemetery Preservation Work Session at Greenfield's earliest cemetery, The Old Burying Ground, will be coming up on Tuesday, May 15th, 2018 beginning at 9:00a.m.  -- it is a "stay as long as you can environment". 

The Old Burying Ground's restoration/preservation efforts are now in their 5th year...and still going strong!!  
Many of the historical society's volunteers, namely, John King, Scott and Venus Andersen, Harold Schmidt, and Gloria Losey, have been volunteering since the beginning.  Others have also joined them over the past years, including, Michael  Lee Anderson and Jackie Doles, who are regulars as well.  

You won't find a more dedicated, and experienced group of caring individuals who are working to restore an early Ohio cemetery than these volunteers!   



Also, be sure to check out the link below with details and photographs taken at the previous work session on May 8th.:

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"Volunteer Session - May 8, 2018"

"What a beautiful day for work in the cemetery! We were able to realign more stones, repair a couple broken stones, clean some stones, and using the hoist, lift and reset a few of the heavier stones. Joining in were Scott Andersen, John King, Jackie Doles, Mike Anderson, Gloria Losey and her sister Karen, Harold Schmidt, and Avery Applegate (who came from Hillsboro to help)."

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****How Can YOU Help?****
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"Join us for an upcoming work session. You can stay as long as you like. We will help you get started if you have not participated previously. Tasks range from cleaning stones, straightening stones, recording information, etc. We post our scheduled sessions on the GHS website calendar"

For further details, or to sign up to participate in the next volunteer work session, contact John King, of the Greenfield History Society at:  

jfking@earthlink.net.
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The Old Burying Ground's Ohio Historic Inventory # HIG-00314-02


Monday, May 7, 2018

More White Bronze! Monuments & Markers - Look for Them at Your Favorite Cemetery!

Sharing a small sampling arranged in groups of four photographs each, that are representative of what we can expect to see for close up details found on White Bronze markers (zinc), monuments, and a unique urn that doubles as a family plot marker.  

Remember when you next visit your favorite cemetery that contains older (pre-granite) markers, be sure to look around for monuments or markers with distinctively crisp details -- they just might be made of White Bronze, and you wouldn't want to miss seeing and photographing them!

 (There are two white monuments in the above photo)
"Actually sand cast zinc, but called white bronze for marketing purposes. Almost all, if not all, zinc grave markers were made by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, CT, between 1874 and 1914. They are in cemeteries of the period all across the U.S. and Canada. They were sold as more durable than marble, about 1/3 less expensive and progressive."  

 
 
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Further Reading:
"Metal Monuments of Greenwood Cemetery"

by Mark Culver

Friday, May 4, 2018

Spotlighting the White Bronze (Zinc) Monuments at Greenwood Cemetery - Wellington, Lorain County, Ohio

White Bronze Monuments!  
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How many of us have seen photographs of them or have been fortunate enough to have admired them in person?  

They dot a cemetery's landscape projecting a commanding presence with their finely etched features and almost glistening granite-looking composition.  But, being made of granite, they are not!
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Some may consider them oddities. 
We know that they are not really so odd, but are quite often one-of-a-kind originals to behold.

 They truly are a delight to the eye.  

Most have retained the same appearance and stand in an almost new condition as the day they were installed to honor the life of the deceased whose gravesite they mark.   
Let's take a short tour of Greenwood's White Bronze Markers - some are shown with views from different vantage points. 

 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
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(Below photo)
While not a white bronze (zinc) monument,
this towering obelisk and surrounding markers 
grace the grounds at the Greenwood Cemetery in Wellington
and invite a visitor to stop and linger for awhile longer.
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A Link to just one of several online articles available to read and reference regarding
 "White Bronze" (zinc) Monuments 

Spending a Day to Remember and "Visit" Archibald M. Willard at Greenwood Cemetery in Wellington, Ohio

Sharing a few of my photographs taken at the Greenwood Cemetery in Wellington, Lorain County, Ohio of April 29, 2018.  

My main focus for visiting Wellington was to stop in at the Spirit of '76 Museum on Main Street.  During 2018, a special exhibit of some of Archibald M. Willard's  paintings are on display that are on loan from Mr. Dan Zivko.  For anyone who enjoys and follows Archibald M. Willard's art -- the "Spirit of '76" painting is his best known painting, but he painted so many others -- this is rare opportunity to view paintings not in the museum's collection.  

If you have never been to Wellington, I think you'll find it to be quite an inviting town.

If you are traveling from the north you'll also enjoy driving through the new brick lined railroad underpass which is a great improvement for the residents and visitors alike!