Cemetery caches have always been some of my favorites. Whether it be the history of the site or the personal stories, they always hold some fascinating information. But this area also has a number of famous or should I say “infamous” abandoned cemeteries that I contend hold just as much fascination. This series is to shed some light on these former graveyards and hopefully spark your interest in their stories as well. I give you… “Abandoned Cemeteries of the Columbus Area.”
Pest House and "new" South Graveyard (also called the County Graveyard and City Cemetery)
When the decision was made to close the East Graveyard, the city and county settled on a plan to secure land for both a “pest house”–a facility for housing those sick with serious, communicable diseases–and a burial ground.
The land purchased for this convenient arrangement was about 30 acres east of South High Street (then called Chillicothe Pike), roughly between Kingston Avenue and what is now Rt. 104. Only about a half an acre in the southeast corner of the site was used for burials, mostly for paupers or others who could not afford to be buried at Green Lawn.
Inevitably, by 1882 the graveyard was described as neglected, and calls were made for a fence and for the graves to be marked or recorded in some way.
The opening of a new County Infirmary with its own cemetery led to the sale of the entire tract in 1893. The land was then sold off in chunks, but the site of the graveyard, by now long forgotten, was not sold until 1938.
The graveyard was divided into four plots, where houses were built beginning in 1950. Graves were found when the basements were excavated for three of them. A tombstone, apparently moved from the East Graveyard, was found just below the ground in 1984.
The houses are long gone, and the lots vacated. The site of the cemetery lies to the southeast of Hirschvogel Inc. in the area of South Fifth Street and the service rod in front of South High Mobile Home Park.