| The OES visited the Hendren Cemetery on
April 10, 2004. Also known as Barnhart Cemetery, what remains of this cemetery
is just off of State Route 317 in Groveport, near a new industrial park.
Established in 1826, this cemetery has at least 35 recorded burials and probably
looked very pleasant. Today it is in, by far, the worst condition of any
cemetery we have ever visited. All of the stones are broken and piled into an
overgrown area in the corner of a field. It's safe to say that almost none of the
tombstones are in their proper location. Many of them could not be read because
of erosion and other damage. When we visited, there were dead dear carcasses
scattered about the grounds. Could it be cult related, or is it just remains of
a hunter's kill? We will probably never know. There is one thing that is
certain, this cemetery has been forgotten for a long time. There is some
construction going on in the adjoining field, so it could be just a matter of time until
it vanishes completely. UPDATE: A restoration
project is now underway to clean-up and restore the stones at
Hendren Cemetery. Some progress has already been made in placing a
plaque with those buried listed and re-setting some of the
tombstones. |
| |
| Location
Information: Inactive
Cemetery [Overgrown] |
| Hendren Cemetery is off State Route 317 in
Groveport, Franklin County. |
| |
| Photographs |
All of the stones piled up is all that is left of Hendren Cemetery. You wouldn't even know the stones where unless you looked closely. As you can see, all of them are toppled over on their sides. Some stones have been down so long that vegetation is growing on them. In the summer, one would never see the stones because of the overgrowth. Here's a pile of smaller tombstones in one corner. These larger stones are stacked on each other. The rest are scattered about. The only thing readable on this stone was Father And Mother. These broken stones were near the front of the overgrowth. The hand engraved on this stone once pointed to the sky now points west. The name on this tombstone with a star could not clearly be read. This black stone was partly for an Elizabeth who died on March 14, 1848. This tombstone belonged to John Swisher, who died on July 8, 1856. And this stone from 1845 was for a woman named Martha Harrin. The name on this tall stone was Iger. This large stone lay on its side, like so many others. This grassy knoll may have once been part of the cemetery. Here is a skull of one of the deer. And a jaw bone of some type of animal. This is probably the most recent of the dead deer. This one was mostly rotted out and smelled horrible. Looks like a pile of fur, but it was yet another deer. One deer rotted away to nothing but bones.
All of the stones piled up is all that is left of Hendren Cemetery.
|