Hendren Cemetery

The OES visited Hendren Cemetery on April 10, 2004. Also known as Barnhart Cemetery, what remains of this cemetery is just off State Route 317 in Groveport near the new industrial park. Records indicate Hendren Cemetery was established in 1826 and contained at least 35 burials, but the oldest recorded burial occurred in 1801 when Joseph Flemington died. His was the earliest known marked grave in Madison Township. His marker has been lost to time. The cemetery probably looked very pleasant through the mid to late 1880s, but when we visited the cemetery was one of the most overgrown, dilapidated cemeteries we had visited up until that point. All of the tombstones were broken and piled into an overgrown area in the corner of a field. Almost none of the tombstones were in their proper location and many could not be read due to erosion and other damage. To top off the the bad conditions, there were deer carcasses scattered about the grounds. We’re not sure why there were so many dead deer, but it did not seem natural to us. One thing we were certain of was the cemetery had been forgotten for a long time. There was some construction going on in an adjacent field, so we believed the cemetery could be in danger of vanishing completely. Fortunately a restoration project began to clean up and restore Hendren Cemetery a few years after our visit. Progress was made in placing a plaque with those buried listed, a new gate was installed, and some of the tombstones were reset. We may return to the cemetery at some point in the future to report on its restoration.

Location Information: Inactive Cemetery [Safe]

Hendren Cemetery is located off State Route 317 in Groveport; Franklin County.

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