Ohio Urban Legends

Otterbein Cemetrey

Otterbein Cemetery, located on the southwest corner of Knox & Walnut Sts, was established in November 1856 with the purchase of four acres of land from Abraham Winters. The Otterbein Cemetery Association was formed to oversee the purchase of lots, burials, and grounds keeping. The land was originally divided into 553 lots and is now known as the "Old Section" of Otterbein.

Four additions have been made to Otterbein in order to provide more burial space. In November 1924 the Otterbein Mausoleum was dedicated, with 290 crypts available.

In 1940 the cemetery boundaries were extended with the purchase of land from Burton Bowers. This section was originally referred to as the "Bowers Addition", but is now known as the "Knox Section", and initially provided an additional 259 lots.

In 2010 the Otterbein Columbarium was completed, located on the site of the old cemetery office.  The structure consists of 4 "wings" each containing 48 niches for a total of 192 spaces for cremains.  Each niche can hold up to two sets of ashes, allowing for an additional 384 burials.

The final addition was made in 2012 with the expansion of the Knox Section.  Nine more lots were able to be plotted allowing for 32 burial spaces. 

It was during the 1840's that James Henry was faced with a dilemma. He had been courting two women, Rachel Hodge and Mary Angle, and could not decide which one he wanted to marry. As the story goes, the final decision was not to be made by Henry, but by his horse.

One night, Henry fell asleep while riding home. When he awoke, he found that his horse had not taken him home, but had instead stopped in front of Mary Angle's house. Henry took it as a sign and he and Mary were soon married. And as a wedding present, Henry gave Mary the very horse that had brought the two together.

By all accounts, the couple was very happy. But that happiness was to be short-lived when Mary died in February of 1845. She was buried in Otterbein Cemetery.

As fate would have it, Henry again starting courting Rachel Hodge. And in 1848, the two were united in marriage. One version of the story actually has Henry giving Rachel the same wedding present he had given Mary; the very horse that had brought Mary and James Henry together years ago.

Rachel and James had not been married very long when the townsfolk noticed something strange on Mary Henry's tombstone; the outline of a horseshoe.

James Henry was distraught. He not only took the horseshoe to represent Mary's displeasure over his new marriage, he also felt that he was now cursed. And perhaps he was. For legend has it that the night after witnesses reported strange noises and lights coming from Otterbein Cemetery, James Henry was found dead in his barn... the mark of a horseshoe clearly visible on his forehead. His death was ruled an accident, as Henry has been alone in the barn. Indeed, the only other living creature that was said to have been in the barn at the time of the accident was... a horse.

Even today, a strange mark resembling a horseshoe is still visible on Mary Henry's tombstone. Some even claim that on certain nights, you can hear ghostly hoofbeats running up and down the road near Otterbein Cemetery.