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."

Saturday, April 21, 2018

A 1939 Feature Article by the "Daily Herald" of Circleville, Pickaway County, Relates Details of the Work Done by Those Who Embarked on Registering the Graves and Drawing Cemetery Plat Maps for the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration / Works Projects Administration) During the Years of the Great Depression

Since 2013 I have worked on locating WPA Cemetery Plat Maps for all of Ohio's 88 counties.  It has meant several phone calls and emails to various government agencies and private organizations such as libraries and historical societies to learn where these maps, drawn up primarily during the years of the Great Depression, are located today.  

Presently, thirteen counties remain unaccounted for where these WPA Cemetery Plat Maps are located.: Adams, Carroll, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Mahoning, Meigs, Montgomery, Noble, Ottawa, Preble, Putnam, and Seneca Counties.
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However, it is gratifying to unexpectedly see this news story that appears in the May 5, 1939 "Daily Herald", Circleville, Pickaway County newspaper. 

 It is shown below copied in four separate parts.  This story can be found on "Newspapers.com" as well as "NewspaperArchives.com".  

Here's hoping that this story will inspire more people to visit their local cemeteries and take note of the gravesites and their condition -- linger a little longer to pay silent respects, or quiet prayers, and place flags at veterans' gravesites. 
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Perhaps more chapters of organizations such as the Ohio Genealogical Society will take stock of their county's cemeteries and embark on documenting them with new transcriptions of grave marker inscriptions to update those that were taken many years ago.


 
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For Further Information:

Sharing below:
History and WPA Maps of the Ferris and Wilcox Cemeteries 
in Franklin County, Ohio:
"The Ferris and Wilcox Cemetery Schematics"
"A Link to the Past"
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Sample WPA Cemetery Plat Maps below: