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."

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Sharing this story from the Dayton Daily News -- The Stranger buried at the Old Greencastle Cemetery in Dayton

As we begin reading this article we soon learn it was known that the deceased was a woman who died on January 4, 1851 at age 24 years, yet her name was not known. Instead she has been 'identified' as "The Stranger" for 170 years.  Only those two words were carved on a small white marble marker where one would expect to see a person's name.  The tombstone appears to have been toppled over years ago and lies flat sinking each year lower and lower into the ground at the Old Greencastle Cemetery in Dayton

To commemorate her short life and the 170th anniversary of her death, this news story spotlights what can be made of her time on earth in this fitting tribute thanks to Dayton Daily News reporter Lisa Powell.  

Be sure to check out the photographs of the marker and older news stories that were published about it also in this article. 

Well-known Dayton historian and author Curt Dalton, who has authored several books, was interviewed for this story. Perhaps through some means like conducting a DNA study on her remains, this young lady's story in a future anniversary spotlight article will indeed finally tell us her identity.