Outside of Native cemeteries- all of which have been destroyed over time- Franklinton Cemetery is the oldest cemetery known in Central Ohio. Its small size and largely tucked-away location ensure most people probably don’t even realize it exists.
What is the world at best?
A passage to the tomb.
And every hour comes around,
By sorrow or by woe,
Some tie to unbind,
By love entwined,
To lay our comforts low.
Epitaph that once adorned early Franklinton settler Joseph Vance’s headstone, who was buried in Franklinton Cemetery in 1824.
**Last Updated: 12/7/2024- Added new dates and a cemetery burial list.
Location
774 River Street
Years in Use
1799-Around 1871
Closure
1870s
Grave Relocation
1849 and Later, to Green Lawn.
Known Graves
150+
Timeline of Events
The timeline includes general history, reports, mentions in media and more.
1806
The first known burial depends on the source. The cemetery is said to have opened in 1799. However, none of the sources I could find have burials listed for the first several years. For 1963’s Cemetery Records of Franklin County, Ohio Index, the first burial is listed as being for Elizabeth Goodale in January, 1809. However, the site Central Ohio Grave Search lists at least 3 burials that predate this. The oldest of these is for a Samuel McElvain, who was buried sometime in 1806. It’s possible that there were earlier burials, but records have been lost.
1871
Also according to Cemetery Records of Franklin County, the last known burial at the cemetery was for Samuel Scott Sr. in October.
January 1, 1922
A Columbus Dispatch article titled Early Cemetery of Columbus is Nearly Forgotten, the cemetery’s poor condition is described, with it being overgrown and that it “looks more like a pasture”. “Some of the stones lay upon the ground as if tired of their task of pointing out the residing place of the early residents; others are broken in half.”
August 21, 1947
In an issue of The Hilltop Record, an article titled Graveyard is Little-Known Landmark, the cemetery was said to be considered old as far back as 1858. The article goes on to describe the cemetery as giving visitors a “distinct sense of desolation and woe”.
A photo of the Franklinton Cemetery as it appears in the 1947 Hilltop Record article.
A comprehensive list of known and possible Franklinton Cemetery burials can be found below, compiled from multiple sources.
Franklinton Cemetery Burials
