I wanted to post something for the Fourth of July, but nothing would really come to mind. I was running some errands in Urbana, though, yesterday, and I decided to stop and look around Oak Dale Cemetery. I hoped to maybe find some veterans or something like that I could talk about, but as I was driving around trying to think of something, I was sidetracked by this older part of the cemetery I’ve never really been through before. The stones in this patch were so unique, I decided just to post about them and leave the patriotism implied (Yay, America!). So this is not exactly a Fourth of July post, but today isn’t exactly the Fourth of July, so . . . we’ll live with that, then!

Oak Dale Cemetery isn’t one I’ve posted about before. First of all, don’t confuse it with Oak Grove Cemetery of Kingscreek, Ohio. Oak Dale is actually in the town of Urbana, address 319 Patrick Avenue. It’s a convenient enough drive–if you’re headed south down 68, just turn left at the roundabout onto US 36 and make a right on Patrick Ave. The cemetery is on your left after the Burger King. It was founded in 1856 and is notable as being the burial place of Simon Kenton, among other local legends . . . these include founders and other favorites of my alma mater, Urbana University. Ironically enough, the area I selected for photos today because I had never paid much attention to it is the area spotlighted by Beth of GraveAddiction–you might want to check out her pictures as well. I’ve only picked out five stones to talk about here, so if you want to see the rest, check out the slideshow at Shutterfly.

Anyway, I parked and began to wander around. One thing I love about exploring cemeteries is that while standing there looking at one marker, I’ll see another and be drawn over; from there, I’ll see another, and on and on. By stone-hopping, I can cover so much area and not even realize I’ve done it. These are the stones I hopped from yesterday.

First, that of “Ann O.” She is identified as the “wife of Christopher Michael,” and she died on the 14th of December, 1858, at the age of 84–which means she was probably born on April 12, 1774. The elaborate carving on this stone make it really eye-catching. There is also semi-legible text at the bottom that says she was born somewhere in Frederick Co., MD, and something else that starts “our dear Mother has gone . . .”

From Ann O., I had to check out this bizarre table gravestone. I may or may not have been able to determine that it was the grave of a doctor, but I would’ve advised him that this was a really poor choice of monument. As you can see, it is held up on six legs–well, one has collapsed–and its flat face is full to the elements, which have pretty nearly blasted all the text off. When I was finally standing on the correct side of it, I was able to tell that there were words, but I lacked the patience to attempt reading them. He seems to have had a wife named Rosetta, which makes me laugh–this is the Rosetta stone! O:)

Hardly was I done snapping pictures of them, though, when I saw this peculiar little guy! This odd little pillared house is dedicated to one “Frank Fairchild,” with the inscription “Our Little Frank.” He died on the 19th of some month in 1859, and may have been a year old–there’s an annoying shadow over that bit. The style of the marker, though, is so unique, I was really fascinated and took any number of pictures of it.

Next, what to my wandering eye should appear . . . but a winged angel hanging out pretty near! So I headed over to check her out. This is apparently the stereotypical angel for cemetery markers, and I may one day make a whole collection of all the places I’ve seen her and post them at once. This time she graces the final resting place of one James W. Fulton and his wife Anna.

This last one I actually had to cross the road for but I found it was worth it. This is a very pretty take on the angel headstone motif and I actually find it very sad. Check out the slideshow for the full version; I just picked one angle for here. The tombstone is for Russell Bunnell, who died in 1892 at the age of five. The words written by the angel on the scroll read, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

All in all, a really lovely day at the Urbana cemetery . . . but I can’t even tell you how hot it was! Check out the slideshow, comment, blah-blah-blah, and enjoy your Fourth of July!!