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."

Monday, May 6, 2019

Sharing this in-depth article about the Floral Hills Memory Gardens - Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio location

This well-researched story is from the "Chillicothe Gazette" - "Floral Hills Clean Up set for May 11; glimmer of hope in new law" from Jona Ison, published on May 5, 2019.
"Clean Up Floral Hills Memory Gardens" is the name of the Facebook Group set up to support the efforts to maintain the Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County
"The cemetery is located on the east side of US 23 / Ohio State Route 104 about 0.6 miles south of its intersection with Massieville Road (County Road 600). 

The cemetery is located in Huntington Township, Ross County, Ohio, and is # 10459 (Floral Hills Cemetery) in “Ohio Cemeteries 1803-2003”, compiled by the Ohio Genealogical Society. 

The cemetery is registered with the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing (ODRE) as Floral Hills Memory Garden with registration license number CRC.0000980717. 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) feature ID for the cemetery is 1040535 (Floral Hills Cemetery)."
This is a must read story, especially for anyone who has been struggling with trying to resolve ongoing issues at an active cemetery that may have lost its registration with the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission.  
We hope that future updates will bring meaningful progress to resolve the problematic issues impacting Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County -- and those who have family and friends buried there.
It is important to keep in mind that this cemetery is not old and inactive yet has been abandoned and left without an owner for several years now and even the registration for it has lapsed.  The result is that untold numbers of volunteers have had to pitch in to take care of all of the needs of Floral Hills Memory Gardens.  Obviously, this situation that cannot go on indefinitely.  
The 'powers that be' in the State of Ohio must realize that there are a growing number of cemeteries stuck in varying degrees of crisis. Local help alone is insufficient to adequately resolve them. 

Ohio's present laws (Ohio Revised Codes) are not strong enough to properly protect all of its cemeteries. They have failed to keep them from descending into deteriorating conditions requiring years to bring them successful resolutions in a timely manner.
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All Cemeteries Matter!