Milan Cemetery - Milan, Ohio

The Milan Cemetery, as seen by our photos below, is one of the most beautiful cemetery's in the state of Ohio. Officially established in 1851, the Milan, Ohio cemetery features two distinct areas - the first being the north-east corner parcel known as St. Anthony's Catholic section which is off Berlin Street across from Edison Park and the remainder of the cemetery, with the entrance off Edison Street, is the Milan Cemetery proper.  Among other things, the Milan Cemetery features stately maple and oak trees, a water fountain, landscaped sitting areas for quiet reflection, the Hastings Memorial Chapel and a rustic entrance to the "Galpin Wildlife Sanctuary" all of which are shown in Milan Cemetery photos on this page. As would be expected, there are some members of the Edison family buried here, and of course,  even a ghost story or two (see below)      

There are many ghost stories about this cemetery but the one most often mentioned is the "Legend of the Abbott Tomb". Ben Abbott was a pioneer in Milan and many feel his spirit is still in this area. The legend holds that the cemetery is "haunted" by a Ben and Lorena (Judson) Abbott, who passed away in the mid 1800's. The entrance to the Abbott crypt is strangely located facing away from the cemetery towards a ravine which adds to the mystery because it gives the appearance of planned seclusion. The truth is that this ravine was a natural pond at the time that Abbott's Tomb was built. The ghost tale is that anyone who disturbs the Abbott's burial chamber (as in knocking on the door) will be chased away by Ben himself. Over the years, Milan Cemetery has had more than it's share of strange stories, so you might want to avoid the Abbott crypt.

Above is a panorama of the Milan Cemetery in the fall season showing the boulder marking the Huron Institute site, the Hastings Memorial Chapel and the road leading into the cemetery. Below on left is the famous Fries family mausoleum, several unique monuments and the fountain in the fall.

Galpin Wildlife Sanctuary

In October 1926, W.A.Galpin of Buffalo, N.Y. (who was a Milan native)  donated a 20 acre piece of land to the Village of Milan to be used as a bird sanctuary and wild flower refuse. The land bordered the east and south side of Milan Cemetery and an entrance to the Sanctuary is in the southeast corner of the cemetery.  There  is also a small walking park across from the cemetery (back side) for the Galphin Nature Trail which is shown on another page. 

Click Here To Visit Hastings Memorial Chapel Page

Click Here To See Burial Records of Milan Cemetery