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Reviews — 3
There are places in the world that one can visit and learn nothing, while another can visit and learn a lot about themselves and their community. This is one of those places.
The tldr version: highways close by, easily accessed, many visible stones at various stages of wear and visibility, groundhog holes, lots of animals.
The stones:
Mostly flat block style as is typical with deceased, institutionalized persons from this period. Most visible stones have names. Some have unknown birth dates ("unk"), many are labeled with "amd" date, which I assume is admitted (correct me if I'm wrong please). Sad to see so many with not much time between their admitted and death dates. Some just have numbers, I observed double and triple digit numbers.
I observed stones from death dates 1912, all the way to the 60s. Visible ones disproportionately female. An alarming amount of deaths 1915/16 - I read there was a "grip" epidemic in the winter of converging influenzas and illnesses.
The place:
Including a screenshot of an 1883 landowners map, related facility highlighted. Buildings nearby for what is now called the Developmental Center. None appear to be particularly old, many of the original buildings (some from the 19th century) were demolished/destroyed.
Highway close by, so the sound of traffic is loud. Lots of surrounding trees, and abubdant wildlife. Appears to be quite the groundhog population, all playing about and keeping these sleeping citizens some company. But watch out for groundhog holes.
I saw what I assume to be turkey vultures riding the wind, a doe, and lots of groundhogs. I also saw the windy evening sending cascades of falling walnut leaves into the air and providing a blanket for our cemetery.
Reason for my rating: it's educational if you'd like it to be. Not because anything is presented to you. But because it just is. I learned a lot.
Please be respectful here. We soon will be laid to rest, and some of us will be given much more love and respect than some of the persons here, and through no fault of their own.
These are my reflections to a piece of our history.
The tldr version: highways close by, easily accessed, many visible stones at various stages of wear and visibility, groundhog holes, lots of animals.
The stones:
Mostly flat block style as is typical with deceased, institutionalized persons from this period. Most visible stones have names. Some have unknown birth dates ("unk"), many are labeled with "amd" date, which I assume is admitted (correct me if I'm wrong please). Sad to see so many with not much time between their admitted and death dates. Some just have numbers, I observed double and triple digit numbers.
I observed stones from death dates 1912, all the way to the 60s. Visible ones disproportionately female. An alarming amount of deaths 1915/16 - I read there was a "grip" epidemic in the winter of converging influenzas and illnesses.
The place:
Including a screenshot of an 1883 landowners map, related facility highlighted. Buildings nearby for what is now called the Developmental Center. None appear to be particularly old, many of the original buildings (some from the 19th century) were demolished/destroyed.
Highway close by, so the sound of traffic is loud. Lots of surrounding trees, and abubdant wildlife. Appears to be quite the groundhog population, all playing about and keeping these sleeping citizens some company. But watch out for groundhog holes.
I saw what I assume to be turkey vultures riding the wind, a doe, and lots of groundhogs. I also saw the windy evening sending cascades of falling walnut leaves into the air and providing a blanket for our cemetery.
Reason for my rating: it's educational if you'd like it to be. Not because anything is presented to you. But because it just is. I learned a lot.
Please be respectful here. We soon will be laid to rest, and some of us will be given much more love and respect than some of the persons here, and through no fault of their own.
These are my reflections to a piece of our history.
I'm not sure what the last reviewer was speaking of, but there are rows and rows of graves, in fact, there are 650 of them. One needs to look a little closer to see them. These are graves of people who were left "unclaimed" by their family members and buried here from the State Of Ohio Institution for the Feeble Minded. The graves have very small markers and are almost completely grown over. The Columbus Developmental Center should be ashamed of itself for not taking any care whatsoever of those graves others than mowing the lawn. This is a very sad place and not something I will forget soon.
This cemetery was a disappointment. Nothing to see. A few unmarked graves. Very little to see. Definitely not worth the time to visit.
If you do go here, don't follow the GPS to Ryan Avenue. It's a dead end street. Turn by the sign that says Columbus Developmental Center. Then bear right. Then you'll see a little spot where you can park.
If you do go here, don't follow the GPS to Ryan Avenue. It's a dead end street. Turn by the sign that says Columbus Developmental Center. Then bear right. Then you'll see a little spot where you can park.
