I’m trying hard to get back into the habit of taking weekly drives to fun destinations. It’s a lot harder to find new places now that I’ve been doing this for a while so I’m having to dig deeper and most of the time, drive a lot further. Last week I wanted to find a new cemetery to check out so I did some browsing around Find A Grave and ended up discovering Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is a little bit of a drive for me, just over two hours, but the cemetery looked promising.
Greenlawn Cemetery was founded in 1848 and covers over 360 acres. It’s the final resting place for over 150,000 people. It’s probably in the top five largest cemeteries I’ve visited. It’s also probably the most confusing. Most cemeteries have a few main roads throughout, and even if they’re large you never really seem to get lost. Greenlawn, on the other hand, was almost like a maze. I ended up in the same few spots multiple times while trying to navigate my way around. I’m certainly not complaining, it made for a fun day!
A lot of cemeteries have a headstone that kind of becomes their most popular “attraction”. Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery has the Haserot Angel, Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Ashtabula has the train disaster monument, and Greenlawn has George Blount. Seen directly above, below, and at the very beginning of this post. Georgie, as he is lovingly referred to, was born on Sept. 26, 1867, the only son of Eli and Sarah Blount. Mr. Blount owned the American House Hotel, where George slid down a banister and crashed into a heavy iron stove hearth. He died a week later. All these years later, locals still take care of Georgie. His headstone is one of the most visited in the cemetery, and apparently always decorated. When I visited the ground surrounding his headstone was covered in small trinkets and toys, and his hands were full of pennies. In the winter it’s a regular occurrence for him to be “decorated” with a hat and scarf (which can actually damage a headstone since they hold in moisture)
Little Georgie’s grand headstone was beautiful, no doubt, but I think my favorite of the day still has to go to Tommy with that incredible bed monument. He was only eight months old so the bed isn’t very large but my goodness, it’s detailed. I took so many close up photos trying to capture all the details, including the ruffles on the pillow, and tassels on the mattress. The artistry that goes into some of these headstones really just blows my mind.
Aside from these two, there was still tons to see! A cemetery this size is no doubt packed with amazing things. I’m sure there is so much I missed, especially since there was a section I was avoiding all together due to funeral proceedings. I did manage to find tons and tons of symbolism though. Here are few of my favorites featured in this post, see if you can spot them for yourself…
century plant – represents immortality; everlasting life.
clasped hands – farewell to Earthly existence and God’s welcome in heaven.
hand with heart – charity, used by both Odd Fellows & Masons.
lamb – innocence, often found on the gravestones of children.
willow tree – perpetual sadness or mourning
My final thoughts on Greenlawn? Definitely worth the drive!
xoxo
17 comments
I always love your cemetery photos! And I think every city has one named Greenlawn LOL
Yeah, just like roads tons of cemeteries share the same name. I somehow always forget that though when I'm looking up information on a cemetery. I'll see something and be like "I certainly don't remember THAT" and then realize it's because it's in a totally different state. 😛
Great find – and lovely photos, as always. That bed is so, so excellent!
Thanks, Alexandra! Thought of you when I saw the bed, seems like something you'd appreciate.
What a pretty cemetary
The photos don't even do it justice! Not to mention, it was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining but it wasn't too warm. Perfection!
What a great find. I love the symbolism of the different headstones.
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ME TOO! I could spend hours and hours and hours reading about it all!
beautiful. there is nothing like the carvings on old monument stones. i always look for clasping hands and lambs. so gorgeous.
Clasped hands are definitely one of my favorites!
I love the pictures and the history! I want to make a point of exploring more cemeteries around me as well.
Thanks Jess!
Do it! It's incredible the history in these places.
How cool! I just moved to Columbus from Illinois and I was hoping there were nifty things to do around here! I'll have to check this place out!
Oh, awesome! Yeah, this cemetery is gorgeous!
Also, the giant cobs of corn I linked in the post are in the Columbus area too! They're kind of weird but definitely worth a visit. 🙂
Random giant things?!? That is my jam! Thank you! If you ever get to Illinois a town called Casey is home to several "world's largest" things. My faces are the wind chime and the mail box?
I just love when you cover a new cemetery! Especially with the added symbolisms to look for. I've always loved visiting cemeteries, the older the better. But I've never given a thought to all the reoccurring imagery. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open then next time I'm out.
I love your cemetery posts! I especially like when you give tips on how to find places. I checked out that find a grave site and it was pretty cool. Maybe it will give me inspiration to find a cemetery to visit.
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