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."

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Sharing a story about the problems plaguing the Columbiana County Memorial Park

Sharing this story from the "Morning Journal" in Lisbon, Ohio.:  
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Excerpt from news story.:
“We only have two guys. We have 17,000 graves and markers and 50 acres with two people. We try to have five guys in the summer, but we don’t know if they’re going to stay. Nobody wants to do it anymore. When someone quits, there’s nobody to call,” Merritt explained.
She said, “We can’t get anyone to work. It’s mostly the salary. One worked a month, said he had enough money to buy his games and quit. There’s a whole different mind set (among potential employees).”
 

Columbiana County Memorial

Irish Ridge Rd. and Route 170

"The former 96-acre Gaston Farm along old Route 30 near Calcutta was obtained by Columbiana County Memorial Park which was incorporated in 1935.
Planned as a park type burial grounds without headstones, it features stately trees, flower beds and modern roadways. The designer was Albert R. Haenny and George Bloomgren resident engineer.
William J. Powell was president of the first trustees with offices in the Odd Fellows Temple on Sixth St. A perpetual care fund was established with National City Bank as insurance against neglect and decay which sometimes overtake older cemeteries.
After fire destroyed a one-story office building at the grounds in 1943, the stone shell was used for storage until 1973 when it was remodeled into a chapel. Charles Bibbee, resident manager, died suddenly in October 1973, and his was the first burial in the new chapel.
The chapel is named in honor of Earl Roush, a trustee until his death in 1993.
In the 1960s St. Aloysius Catholic Church provided 14 figurines representing the Stations of the Cross. Later brick and stucco cubicles were installed for figurines which had been sent from Italy to the church where they had been displayed on the sanctuary walls for many years.
Outlined with shrubs and lights is a huge cross laid out on the hillside grounds and visible for some distance. A Catholic section has been added along with a Babyland area and angel statue for infant graves. Among various improvements over the years is a fountain at the entrance.
Olive Wright, resident office manager since Mr. Bibbee's death, reports 9,979 graves, with burials averaging 165 annually."