By Sandi Latimer
Staff Writer
Georgie, the son of the owners of the American House Hotel in downtown Columbus who fell to his death at the age of 5 His popular monument is one that will be seen on the Jan. 31 tour.
Columbus Landmarks Foundation is working with representatives of Green Lawn Cemetery for quarterly tours of the state’s second largest cemetery. The first of the 2016 tours will be Jan. 31.
“It’s such a beautiful park and so rich in history,” said Doreen Uhas Sauer, a historian with the Columbus Landmarks Foundation.
Tours of the 360-acre cemetery will focus on the art as well as the botanical features, not to forget the historical value.
The cemetery, located at 1000 Greenlawn Ave., began burying in July 1848 and is nearing 160,000 burials. It is second in size only to Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery.
Many of the area’s founding fathers are at rest at Green Lawn as well as many prominent residents. Alongside many recognizable names and outstanding artwork in the memorials and monuments are hundreds of trees, some of them champion trees.
Joining Uhas-Sauer to lead the tour will be naturalist Randel Rogers. The two collaborated on a route that would give visitors a good look at local history without going very far.
“Weather in January can be unpredictable,” Uhas-Sauer said.
The route chosen is one not usually taken.
Among monuments to be pointed out are those of Civil War soldier Ovid Smith, Worthington founder Orange Johnson, and the always favored George “Georgie” Blount.
Smith was in the unit that captured the locomotive The General behind enemy lines at Andersonville, Ga., and rode it to the Union side. Soldiers in this unit were the first to receive the Medal of Honor. Smith is one of five Medal of Honor recipients buried at Green Lawn.
Johnson was among the New England residents who plotted out anew settlement in the Northwest Territory and moved westward. These people arrived in central Ohio and set up their already platted out Worthington in 1803.
Blount was the child of the owners of the American House Hotel who fell to his death. Uhas-Sauer has written about “Georgie” in her latest book “Historic Columbus Hotels.”
Visitors will gather at the Huntington Chapel for the 2 p.m. tour. They are encouraged to dress for the weather since it is a walking tour.
Tickets are necessary and can be obtained through the Columbus Landmarks Foundation by visiting www.columbuslandmarks.org or by calling 614-221-0227. Tickets are $10 for Landmarks members, $15 for non-members.
Uhas-Sauer is limiting the tour to 50 people. Other tours are scheduled for April 24, July 31 and Oct. 30.
