LIMA STATE HOSPITAL CEMETERY
777 Bible Road (next to cemetery)
Lima, Ohio 45801
No Phone
Established: 1915
Acres: Approximately 2
No Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 2 Tombstones
Without a doubt, The Proprietors have never visited a cemetery as profoundly dolorous as that of the Lima State Hospital. The diminutive lot, surrounded on three sides by a low chain-link fence, contains the mortal remains of 502 former inmates / patients of the aforementioned hospital which housed the criminally insane. To understand the cemetery, one must consider the place where these tortured souls spent the last years of their lives. That place was formerly known as The Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Construction began in 1908 and was not completed until 1915. Its 14" thick walls were re-inforced with steel and extended deep into the earth where they finally meet bedrock. Until the Pentagon was built, the Lima State Hospital laid claim to being the world's largest poured-concrete building.
The doors to this horrific place opened to receive patients in 1915 and ceased accepting them in 1982 when its function was changed to that of a medium-security prison.
In its heyday, the hospital held 1,400 patients who were cared for by a staff of 700. The patients were either those who had been convicted of violent crimes but were deemed to be "criminally insane" or else, those who, though not guilty of crimes, had been determined to be far too dangerous to be held in less-secure facilities. Of that number, patients who died indigent and whose bodies remained unclaimed by families or loved ones were buried in the forlorn cemetery located on Bible Road.
Perhaps the most notorious resident of the hospital, and now the lonely burying ground which holds the remains of 502 former patients, is Celia Rose (a/k/a "Ceely"). Here is her story:
In the steamy summer of 1896, the young lady (who must have been mentally deranged and/or handicapped), having been thwarted in her imagined romance with a neighbour boy named Guy Berry, determined to “terminate” her entire family in order to be free to marry. Her modus operandi was one box of “Rough On Rats,” which, as one might imagine, was intended to be so rough on the rodents they would “expire.”
Having secured the rodenticide from the family barn, she prepared breakfast one morning...a meal in which she secreted the poison (arsenic) in bowls of Schmeercase (we are uncertain of the spelling--it is something akin to cottage cheese). After consuming the meal, her father went to work in the barn. Her younger brother strolled out to pick berries and her mother began to clean the dishes. But, as one can easily imagine, all was not well. Soon, the mother fell to the floor with violent stomach cramps. Ceely went to the barn and called her father who came running, saw his wife on the floor and began to race toward town to get the doctor. He never made it. Having collapsed in the road, he was discovered and taken back to the unassuming white clapboard Rose home where he and his wife were both left writhing in agony in their beds. Meanwhile, the townsfolk sallied forth in search of Celia's brother who was discovered amidst a bright halo of strewn berries, overcome with the same awful malady. Only Celia was unscathed.
DEATH BY ARSENIC POISING (from internet)
“Symptoms include violent stomach pains in the region of the bowels; tenderness and pressure; retching; excessive saliva production; vomiting; sense of dryness and tightness in the throat; thirst; hoarseness and difficulty of speech; the matter vomited, greenish or yellowish, sometimes streaked with blood; diarrhea; tenesmus; sometimes excoriation of the anus; urinary organs occasionally affected with violent burning pains and suppression; convulsions and cramps; clammy sweats; lividity of the extremities; countenance collapsed; eyes red and sparkling; delirium; death.”
To make a long story short, Mr. Rose died. Celia's brother died. Mrs. Rose was making a splendid recovery until the day Ceely decided to serve Schmeercase again. This time, instead of a single teaspoon, she loaded the bowl with five! Her mother is said to have remarked it was terribly sweet (a telltale sign) but she consumed the entire bowl anyway. Some suggest this was a suicidal move intended to protect herself from the shame her family would endure upon the discovery of Celia's awful deeds. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Rose died.
It didn't take long for law enforcement to entrap Ceely in a confession. She was tried and found “Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity.” She spent her remaining decades in the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where it is rumoured at least some of her embroidery included the Monogram: GB. These were the initials of her fantasy-lover…Guy Berry. She died in 1934. Rumour has it she can sometimes be seen walking among the sea of white crosses which dot the cemetery grounds.
For those of you who venture to this lonely burying ground, look for grave #301. Under that particular cross lie the mortal remains of Ms. Rose. Her grave is beneath an evergreen tree and cannot be missed because of its number, but also because it is the only marker in the cemetery that bears a photograph. From a weathered wooden frame, a faded black and white image of Ceely regards the few passersby with an enigmatic grin.
A list of those interred at the Lima State Hospital Cemetery can be found here.
Should you happen to find yourself anywhere near Lima, Ohio, you would do yourself a great disservice if you fail to visit this haunting graveyard. And, if you do stop by, remember, Woodlawn is just a few minutes away.
{F}
777 Bible Road (next to cemetery)
Lima, Ohio 45801
No Phone
Established: 1915
Acres: Approximately 2
No Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 2 Tombstones
Without a doubt, The Proprietors have never visited a cemetery as profoundly dolorous as that of the Lima State Hospital. The diminutive lot, surrounded on three sides by a low chain-link fence, contains the mortal remains of 502 former inmates / patients of the aforementioned hospital which housed the criminally insane. To understand the cemetery, one must consider the place where these tortured souls spent the last years of their lives. That place was formerly known as The Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Construction began in 1908 and was not completed until 1915. Its 14" thick walls were re-inforced with steel and extended deep into the earth where they finally meet bedrock. Until the Pentagon was built, the Lima State Hospital laid claim to being the world's largest poured-concrete building.
The doors to this horrific place opened to receive patients in 1915 and ceased accepting them in 1982 when its function was changed to that of a medium-security prison.
In its heyday, the hospital held 1,400 patients who were cared for by a staff of 700. The patients were either those who had been convicted of violent crimes but were deemed to be "criminally insane" or else, those who, though not guilty of crimes, had been determined to be far too dangerous to be held in less-secure facilities. Of that number, patients who died indigent and whose bodies remained unclaimed by families or loved ones were buried in the forlorn cemetery located on Bible Road.
Perhaps the most notorious resident of the hospital, and now the lonely burying ground which holds the remains of 502 former patients, is Celia Rose (a/k/a "Ceely"). Here is her story:
In the steamy summer of 1896, the young lady (who must have been mentally deranged and/or handicapped), having been thwarted in her imagined romance with a neighbour boy named Guy Berry, determined to “terminate” her entire family in order to be free to marry. Her modus operandi was one box of “Rough On Rats,” which, as one might imagine, was intended to be so rough on the rodents they would “expire.”
Having secured the rodenticide from the family barn, she prepared breakfast one morning...a meal in which she secreted the poison (arsenic) in bowls of Schmeercase (we are uncertain of the spelling--it is something akin to cottage cheese). After consuming the meal, her father went to work in the barn. Her younger brother strolled out to pick berries and her mother began to clean the dishes. But, as one can easily imagine, all was not well. Soon, the mother fell to the floor with violent stomach cramps. Ceely went to the barn and called her father who came running, saw his wife on the floor and began to race toward town to get the doctor. He never made it. Having collapsed in the road, he was discovered and taken back to the unassuming white clapboard Rose home where he and his wife were both left writhing in agony in their beds. Meanwhile, the townsfolk sallied forth in search of Celia's brother who was discovered amidst a bright halo of strewn berries, overcome with the same awful malady. Only Celia was unscathed.
DEATH BY ARSENIC POISING (from internet)
“Symptoms include violent stomach pains in the region of the bowels; tenderness and pressure; retching; excessive saliva production; vomiting; sense of dryness and tightness in the throat; thirst; hoarseness and difficulty of speech; the matter vomited, greenish or yellowish, sometimes streaked with blood; diarrhea; tenesmus; sometimes excoriation of the anus; urinary organs occasionally affected with violent burning pains and suppression; convulsions and cramps; clammy sweats; lividity of the extremities; countenance collapsed; eyes red and sparkling; delirium; death.”
To make a long story short, Mr. Rose died. Celia's brother died. Mrs. Rose was making a splendid recovery until the day Ceely decided to serve Schmeercase again. This time, instead of a single teaspoon, she loaded the bowl with five! Her mother is said to have remarked it was terribly sweet (a telltale sign) but she consumed the entire bowl anyway. Some suggest this was a suicidal move intended to protect herself from the shame her family would endure upon the discovery of Celia's awful deeds. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Rose died.
It didn't take long for law enforcement to entrap Ceely in a confession. She was tried and found “Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity.” She spent her remaining decades in the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where it is rumoured at least some of her embroidery included the Monogram: GB. These were the initials of her fantasy-lover…Guy Berry. She died in 1934. Rumour has it she can sometimes be seen walking among the sea of white crosses which dot the cemetery grounds.
For those of you who venture to this lonely burying ground, look for grave #301. Under that particular cross lie the mortal remains of Ms. Rose. Her grave is beneath an evergreen tree and cannot be missed because of its number, but also because it is the only marker in the cemetery that bears a photograph. From a weathered wooden frame, a faded black and white image of Ceely regards the few passersby with an enigmatic grin.
A list of those interred at the Lima State Hospital Cemetery can be found here.
Should you happen to find yourself anywhere near Lima, Ohio, you would do yourself a great disservice if you fail to visit this haunting graveyard. And, if you do stop by, remember, Woodlawn is just a few minutes away.
{F}
