Category:

cemeteries

Unity Brick Church Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup October 27, 2016

For the longest time I’ve been saying “someone should make a cemetery finder app!” It sounds like a super niche product but I know I’m not the only person out there whose idea of a good time is wandering around an old cemetery. Google is obviously a great resource but it has its limits, plus it’s not convenient to use when you’re already out and about (…and don’t really even know where you are!) Recently I searched in the app store using the keyword “cemetery”, something I thought I had done before at least a handful of times, but something new popped up! Find A Grave has an app! I genuinely don’t understand how it eluded me for so long, especially since I’m frequently on their website. I’ve been using the app basically every time I leave the house. It’s amazing how many tiny, old cemeteries are around that I never knew about!

After visiting Achor Valley Cemetery I wasn’t ready to head home yet. I wanted to make the most of my day and the nearly two hour drive so I decided to check the app and see what else was around. There were lots of small cemeteries but I wanted something a little more substantial, somewhere worth the drive. I ended up choosing Unity Brick Church Cemetery.

It was a short drive from where I already was but upon pulling into the parking lot I thought maybe it wasn’t the place for me. From my car, to the right of the church, I could only see newer graves, many decorated with flowers. I figured I should hop out and get a better look before giving up. Behind the church I could see some older looking headstones in the distance so I grabbed my camera and started walking.

It wasn’t until I got close enough to read them that I realized just how old. Early 1800s! YES! There was a large chunk of these headstones back there with a few more hiding out in the woods. The cemetery was very well maintained (Aside from random headstones in the woods. Not sure why those weren’t taken care of…?) I definitely wasn’t expecting to find such interesting headstones in this tiny churchyard. I particularly enjoy finding ones in other languages. There really isn’t too much of that in Ohio, so it’s always new and exciting for me. I had never seen the phrase “zum andenken” before, it translates to “in memory”. Such a solid find!

headstone symbolism, cemetery, graveyard

Unity Brick Church cemetery certainly wasn’t the largest cemetery I’ve ever been to but it was definitely a great way to end my trip. This place on top of visiting another beautiful old cemetery with bonus abandoned church made this a pretty darn awesome day. You know, aside from the fact my car pooped out on me on the way home but more on that another day.

I always say I want to make little day drives like this something that happen more often but haven’t really gotten in the habit. I think the Find A Grave app might change that!
xoxo

Achor Valley Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup October 17, 2016

Last Friday I woke up really late. I guess 9am by most people’s standards isn’t too late but that’s a day killer for me. I’m not really an early bird but, without a doubt, I’m most productive first thing in the morning and late at night. I knew if I just tried to start my day as normal I’d end up doing nothing so I figured it was the perfect time to take a day trip. I always try to keep a running list of places I’d like to hit on days like this. Try being the key word there. Frequently when I dedicate any time to researching places for this list I end up feeling defeated and like I’ve seen everything interesting within a days drive – which simply cannot be true.

I searched “haunted cemetery ohio” hoping it’d lead me somewhere new. Most of the results were websites I’ve already pored over time and time again. I did end up finding some ghost hunting blog that I had never seen before. Their “orb” photos were less than convincing but the post I was reading mentioned something about how if you liked old headstones this particular cemetery was a great spot to check out. I knew if I kept searching for other places I’d never leave the house Kind of like when you browse Netflix, you search for the perfect thing, find a few decent looking movies, and then end up watching nothing. Without looking for any more information on the cemetery, I packed my camera bag and hit the road.

It was an easy, breezy two hour drive. After crossing a one way bridge, which somehow seems perfectly appropriate on the way to a creepy old cemetery, I pulled into the driveway to find there was also an abandoned church on the property. SCORE! I was over the moon. From my car I could see that the church looked pretty boarded up. I may crawl through windows on a fairly regular basis but I will never damage property to gain entry to a building. I figured I would walk around the entire cemetery first, getting all my shots, before even checking to see if the church was accessible. I didn’t want any possible disappointment to ruin the high of this find, I was excited just to have it in the background of my shots.

Even if there hadn’t been an abandoned church on the property, the cemetery was worth the drive! There was a mix of old and new headstones, 1800s through 2000s! I’m not crazy about new ones but the old ones were to die for. Hah! Whoops!

After I got all the photos I wanted of headstones I walked around the church to see if I could get a peek inside. I was so pumped to find that all of the pews were still there! I’ve been in a handful of abandoned churches and this is only the second with pews. Without them, and the stained glass windows it doesn’t feel so much like a church. It’s just another empty building, ya know? It was just a single open room with a large mural at the front but an awesome find nonetheless. As much as I’m pro-graffiti it’s always a bit exciting to find something like this that isn’t completely covered in spray paint.

Achor Valley Cemetery, abandoned, church

I couldn’t find much information on this cemetery or why the church was abandoned. The grounds were fairly well maintained, and while I was leaving a car pulled in with a family inside who got out and laid flowers on a grave. I also found a handful of ghost blogs who regularly hunt here so it seems like a rather popular spot. Because of that I assumed it’d have some interesting backstory but I guess not. I did see that one ghost hunter said “the spirits there are gentle and have a great sense of humor” I still don’t believe in ghosts, but I’d love to be proven wrong especially by funny ghosts! *

I still can’t believe what an awesome find this was. Every time I think I’ve seen all the cool cemeteries in Ohio I find something new! Guess this is a sign I need take more spur of the moment trips.
xoxo

*Speaking of ghost stuff! My freshly charged camera battery completely died in this cemetery. Super weird considering the fact my batteries never die. I rarely have to charge them despite how often I use my camera. People always say that ghosts drain batteries… You know, because they’re battery powered or something. 😜

rehoboth mission cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup September 15, 2016

After Roswell, Jeff and I drove up to Tucumcari, New Mexico. The original plan included us dipping in to Texas but we realized it would make for a super long drive to the next night’s hotel so we nixed that and decided just to leisurely cruise parts of Old Rt. 66 on our way to Gallup.

While he drove I browsed Roadside America, Roadtrippers, and good old google for spots to stop along the way. I really wanted to check out a cemetery. Despite three trips to the desert I’ve only managed to make it to one cemetery out there. I ended up stumbling across a photo of one with a bunch of white crosses on a website listing the “most haunted places in New Mexico.” I was intrigued but couldn’t seem to find anything out about the photo so I kept on hunting for other spots. I ended up finding Rehoboth Mission Cemetery and even though it wasn’t the one I saw pictured earlier it did have a whole bunch of white crosses, and even more exciting was that it was right outside of the town our hotel for the night was in.

To get to the cemetery you have to drive through school property, and then up a little hill on a tight, winding dirt road that maybe you shouldn’t be taking a rental car, especially a crappy rental car, on. We came to a sign that said the cemetery closed a few hours earlier but I was determined to get up there. I mean, we already made it most the way up the creepy road. Why not just go all the way?

As soon as I got out of the car I was already in love with Rehoboth Cemetery. I have never in my life seen a cemetery with such character. Flowers litter the graves of recent burials! Most cemeteries in Ohio don’t even allow flowers! There was an article about the cemetery on the school’s website that started with “Most white folks would say the cemetery at Rehoboth is not a well-kept place…” and as much as I hate that generalization, I guess I would agree. It’s interesting how a cemetery can look so overgrown but so clearly be maintained and taken care of. It’s exactly the kind of cemetery I’d like to be buried …if I wanted to be buried.

It was incredibly peaceful there, yet I had a slightly unsettling feeling like I wasn’t alone. It’s hard to describe exactly what it was like but it’s safe to say it was one of my favorite cemetery experiences. Numerous times throughout my short visit I would see something out of the corner of my eye only to realize it was flowers dancing in the breeze. This cemetery felt alive!

If you were to ask me what popped into my head when picturing a cemetery in New Mexico, this is exactly it, even before I ever saw it in person. I’m so glad we pressed on and found this beautiful little spot. Also, sorry for trespassing! 😉
xoxo

I’ve got two recommendations for you! Grab lunch at Kix on 66 if you’re in Tucumcari and if you find yourself looking for a hotel in Gallup – SpringHill Suites by Marriott is AMAZING. Not only is it super new, it even smelled like building materials, but the rooms have such a neat layout. Oh, and the breakfast buffet is tops!

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Maple Grove Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup August 29, 2016

If you thought I was going to go to New England and not come home with a thousand cemetery photos, you clearly don’t know me very well. These aren’t quite as interesting as the ones with the creepy faces from Old Bennington Cemetery and not even a quarter as awesome as some I found at another cemetery I visited the next day but this was still an excellent stop.

I had passed this cemetery on my way to Pemaquid Point but was driving too fast to stop since there were cars behind me. I chalked it up as a loss, and had completely forgotten about it until on my way back to the hotel I ended up at the red light across the street and figured I haaad to stop! Right after pulling in the sky opened up and it started to pour. My plans for the evening included swimming in the hotel pool anyway, so why not get wet a little bit early?

Back in March I visited and blogged about Mound View Cemetery in Mount Vernon, Ohio. One of my favorite headstones there was one that just said “Carrie”. Since that one finding headstones that only have the first name on them has become one of my favorite things. It’s so mysterious. Of course, one could presume it’s because family is nearby but some of them are so far from other headstones it’s hard to tell if they’re related to anyone else there. In this cemetery I actually found a few of them. My favorite of which is “Annie”, seen below.

xoxo

Old Bennington Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup August 18, 2016

Old First Church Cemetery , Old First Congregational Church Cemetery, Vermont

Jeff and I just got back from a “mini” road trip. I’m putting mini in quotes there because since I found out we’d be doing this trip I always just kind of thought it would be a quick get away buuut I think it’s safe to say we killed this trip! Nine states, and just over two thousand miles. For now I think the easiest way to blog about it will be to go in chronological order…

Thursday night after Jeff got off work, we loaded up the car and headed toward my parents house. I thought the plan was to spend the night there and leave early in the morning but Jeff had misunderstood and thought I wanted to leave right after dropping Klaus off. Aaaand that was totally cool by me (because that is exactly what I actually wanted! I just thought a little bit of sleep before a twelve hour drive would be the responsible thing to do.) So we drove through the night, took turns sleeping, and made pretty great time.

Although it was slightly out of the way, Jeff really wanted to take a detour into Vermont. No real destination in mind, just wanted to cross it off his list as it was one of the only states on the east side of the US he hadn’t been to yet. We choose a town at random, Bennington.

I was rambling about how cute Vermont was when to my left I spotted one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. Seeee?! It was massive, decrepit, and honestly just looked like the perfect haunted house. We HAD to stop and get photos. While I was busy taking shots with each of my three cameras (one digital, two instant film. I’m a v. serious tourist, okay?) Jeff thought it would be a good idea to check and see if there were any geocaches nearby. Perfectly enough, there was! “Say Hi to Robert Frost” is the name of the cache and it was located in the cemetery right down the street. That’s how we randomly ended up in the cemetery Robert Frost was buried in!

Old Bennington Cemetery, Vermont, Bennington

Honestly, Robert Frost isn’t very exciting to me. I’ve just never been interested in poetry, it’s nothing against him. I’m always happy to check out the grave of someone famous though, no matter who they are. Also, any excuse to stop into a cemetery is fine by me. …Well, it turns out that Old Bennington Cemetery is packed full of history and the most beautiful headstones. I was only inside the gates for a matter of minutes before declaring it a favorite!

Do you remember last month when I blogged about Workman Cemetery and was all excited about that one headstone with a creepy face on it? Yeah, this cemetery was literally packed full of them! I have SO many photos of them. It’s just crazy how much detail and work was put into these. They put modern headstones to shame.

Pretty awesome first official stop of the trip, right!? Old Bennington Cemetery is absolutely gorgeous, and totally worth a detour. I have never seen old headstones in such amazing shape. This place is an absolute treasure!
xoxo

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Workman Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup July 25, 2016

Last weekend Jeff and I took a little trip to visit a waterfall that was around two hours away. The drive was fairly uneventful. Ohio is a wonderful state, there’s lots to see here but there is no denying that sometimes the drive from one area to the next is boooring. At least for someone who grew up on this side of the US.* Rolling fields surrounded us, and apart from gorgeous old farmhouses every so often there wasn’t much to look at. Shortly before the waterfall we passed a beautiful cemetery. I spotted a few old stones from the road but didn’t think too much of it.

After having so much fun hiking around the waterfall, we weren’t quite ready for our little adventure to be over yet. Jeff asked if there was anything else I wanted to do while we were out and I suggested swinging by the cemetery we had seen earlier. I figured there would at least be a geocache there (there totally is!) and that maybe, just maybe, I could snag a few photos.

I hopped out of the car, examined my surroundings, and apologized to Jeff. “I’m going to be a while. I just need to shoot this, and this, and this! Oh and that!” The cemetery was a lot older than what it appeared to be from the road. While it was no Mount Moriah, it was even slightly overgrown in spots. I was in love!

We wandered around the cemetery for a while, going our separate ways then joining up again to excitedly point out interesting headstone to each other. This beautiful, old cemetery seemed so randomly placed. Surrounded by fields, it was like none I had ever visited before. I did a little research when I got home but could find no extra information or anything out of the ordinary on this place. (I was hoping for ghost stories, obviously!)

There were a lot of instances in this cemetery where I was super excited about this or that but I think that finding the face above took the cake. Jeff and I were admiring two large headstones, both doing the mean lean. They were meticulously carved with beautiful detail but I didn’t even notice the face until Jeff pointed it out. While it’s no skull and cross bones (number one on my to find wishlist!) it’s incredibly awesome!

Every time I think to myself that I’ve already visited all the interesting cemeteries in my surrounding area I’m proven wrong.
xoxo

*Last year when we visited Phoenix the guy at the rental car place asked where we were from and upon hearing Ohio exclaimed how green and beautiful it was here. He was amazed by all the trees! We, on the other hand, were completely enthralled with Phoenix and it’s desert landscape!

Orange Hogsback Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup June 16, 2016

Summer is supposed to be the most fun time of the year but it’s almost always the busiest which kind of makes it not so fun. Finding time to hang out with everyone lately has been hard. I’ve been that friend that is like “we HAVE to do something. I don’t care what it is, just something! It’s imperative!” So last week along with getting ice cream twice (seriously, my favorite way to meet up with friends) we did some long overdue geocaching.

We had plans to head to a cute little town not too far away that has a waterfall, hoping there would be lots of caches there but on the way I was browsing the app and found a cache in a cemetery. Geocaches in cemeteries combine two of my favorite things – cemeteries + finding treasure so I suggested we stop in and look for it.

The cache turned out to be a quick fairly easy find but the cemetery itself was a real treat. Nestled in the woods, you’d never know it was there if you weren’t out looking for it. We actually drove right by it and had to turn around. Orange Hogsback Cemetery has a total of sixty two permanent residents. The oldest we found dated back to 1813. That’s ninety nine years before the Titanic sunk!!!*

While someone else signed the log for everyone, I darted around taking photos. I had no intention of taking any photos when we got there, let alone enough for a post but it was such a wonderful location. Not to mention, it was a beautiful evening- not too hot, not too cool. I feel like the photos captured that. Clovers always feel like summer to me. The grass just looks so soft I want to crawl into the photos with a blanket and a book and spend all day relaxing.

If you haven’t tried out geocaching yet, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s such a fun hobby and a most excellent way to discover hidden gems. If I had never started I wouldn’t have found my new favorite beach or this wonderful cemetery! Plus it’s an awesome excuse to get your friends together.
xoxo

*When I was in grade school I was really into learning about the Titanic. While I was a hair too young to watch the movie without my mom covering my eyes when it came out, I still pored over every book I could find on that big boat. I don’t really remember much of what I learned about it but the year it sunk is still clearly ingrained in my head so it’s often how I compare history dates.

Brown Pet Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup May 19, 2016

While I was looking for things to check out on my little day trip to Columbus I stumbled across Brown Pet Cemetery. I have been to countless cemeteries over the years, like a lot a lot a lot. I blog about them so often that they’ve even earned their own tag here on the blog. I’ve never been to one that was the final resting place for people’s pets though. I wasn’t sure what to expect (yes, I did. I knew that I’d cry!) but felt compelled to check it out! What can I say, I was curious…

Brown Pet Cemetery is located in Columbus, Ohio, right across the street from the airport. Certainly not the most peaceful of resting places but an absolute beauty! Some of the oldest headstones I spotted date back to the 1920’s. Some are handmade, and others are more elaborate than some I’ve seen for humans. A surprising number of the headstones even had photos! The front of the cemetery seems to be fairly well maintained. The back half of the cemetery is nestled in the woods so it was understandable to see that a handful of headstones that have been damaged by fallen trees. It also appeared that some were slowly falling down the hill little by little each year.

The majority of the deceased seemed to be dogs, followed by cats but I also saw a headstone for a bird! Online, while researching this cemetery, I found a photo of a headstone for two ducks but I somehow missed that while I was there. Probably because my eyes were all blurry from crying!

So what was it like? Oh, I just sobbed… the whole time. Like red faced, snot nosed, runny make up SOBBING. Every time I’d start to regain my composure I’d find a headstone with an inscription that got me going all over again. Jeff texted me while I was there to say something like “Hope you’re having a nice day!” When I told him where I was his response was “What are you doing there?! Why!? That’s so sad!” While it was incredibly sad, it was overwhelmingly beautiful. Obviously I wept for their owner’s loss but half the tears came from a place of great appreciation for the friendships we form with animals. It makes my heart swell to think about those bonds. Seriously, I sometimes get teary eyed when I see strangers sharing a special moment with their pet. Basically, when it comes to animals, I’m a huge blubbering fool.

It’s so lovely to think what an impact these animals made on their owners lives that they decided to get them such beautiful headstones when they passed. Some of the headstones with photos were so old! It’s crazy to think about a time when photography wasn’t even a fraction as popular or accessible that someone was like “Yeah, I really love this cat. I’m going to need to get some glamour shots done of her.”

My absolute favorite photo found on a headstone at the pet cemetery.

I hesitated to share this post because it is sad and that’s not really the type of content I share on The Dainty Squid. Jeff even said “I’m not going to read that post, it’ll be too sad!” As much as I cried seeing this in person, and even though I got choked up a few times wiring it, like I said above, it really does warm my heart that people loved these animals so much! I hope you guys out there reading can see the beauty in it too.
xoxo

Greenlawn Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup May 10, 2016

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

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