The OES originally visited Green Lawn Cemetery on August 25, 2002. We have since returned on numerous occasions, both during the day and at night. Green Lawn Cemetery was founded in 1858 in Columbus and is the second largest cemetery in Ohio. With over 144,000 burials and 360 acres, the cemetery is the final resting place of many notable people. Some of the most recognizable of these are listed below. The cemetery is also home to over 150 species of trees including seven state champion trees. Due to the many trees in the cemetery, the entire grounds are considered a bird sanctuary. It is not uncommon to find bird watchers walking the grounds with binoculars and cameras.

The cemetery's monuments range from everyday tombstones to obelisks to mausoleums. Most are in good condition, but there are some that have been damaged or worn by weather. According to the "History of Franklin County," published in 1858, the first burial in Green Lawn Cemetery was a child of A.F. Perry, who died on July 7, 1849. Doctor Benjamin F. Gard, who died of cholera on July 12, 1849 after responding to a cholera outbreak at the Ohio Penitentiary, was the second burial. The cemetery is in active use with enough expansion room to serve Columbus for another fifty years. The cemetery's main mausoleum is the Huntington Chapel / Mausoleum. It was designed by famed architect Frank L. Packard and dedicated in 1902. There are several other mausoleums on the cemetery's property including the Hayden Mausoleum, the final resting place of Charles H. Hayden, the son of industrialist Peter Hayden, and the much smaller Gay mausoleum.

The cemetery is in relatively good condition considering its size. This is due in part to the excellent groundskeeper staff and the work of volunteers. In 2003, Green Lawn began an Adopt-A-Lot program where anyone could register to tend a single grave or family plot, primarily for those that have been forgotten with time. The Ohio Exploration Society adopted the Hayden Mausoleum, John Barr family plot, and Georgie Blount's grave. Adopting a lot is free. For more information on adopting a lot, Click Here. Of course, with a cemetery this size, it is almost expected to be haunted. While there are many hauntings that are said to occur here, including the Hayden and Huntington Mausoleums and the location of Doctor Snook's grave, there were few EMF spikes during our numerous visits. We did record some EVPs, they are listed on the last page.

Go To Page 2 Of Green Lawn Cemetery