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State Street Cemetery - Athens, Ohio
The city of Athens is often said to be full of two things: Bars and Ghosts. One of the legendary cemeteries of Athens is is the State Street cemetery, located on West State Street about three blocks from Uptown Athens. This is the oldest cemetery in the city of Athens, and is home to at least one OU student, one criminal hanged by the neck in accordance with the law, and one weeping angel statue. Legend has it that the angel in the front of the cemetery weeps. Why she weeps is the biggest variable in the equation. Some people say she weeps for the unknown buried that she is meant to represent. Others say she weeps for the vandalism that is rapant in this cemetery. Others still say she contains the souls of those who are trapped, who crossed the witches that are said to lurk around Athens. I've been to State Street countless times in all weather and at all times of the day, and I have yet to see her weeping. I can say that this is a very interesting cemetery, however. There are many replacement stones; most of which have the name "W.E. Peters" inscribed in the corner; the reason is that Mr. Peters went through the cemetery records and repaired and replaced many stones, and granted some of the money to put the red stones that mark unrepairable stones and stones that have been long lost to time.
Although it has plenty of space, State Street is rarely used. Most new burials go into the Union Cemetery or the Columbia Avenue cemetery. There has been one burial in State Street in the past year, and it was in January of 2005.
To get to State Street Cemetery, you have to navigate Uptown Athens just a bit. Take US 33 East to Athens, and get off on the State Street Exit. Turn right, and follow State Street through uptown. The cemetery will be on the right about 3 blocks past Court Street.
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