Saint Joseph Cemetery (Lockbourne, Ohio)

Saint Joseph Cemetery
Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel at St. Joseph Cemetery
Details
Established	2 November 1913
Location	6440 High Street Lockbourne, Ohio, 43137
Type	Catholic
Owned by	Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus
Size	755 acres (306 ha)
No. of interments	57,000
Website	https://www.catholiccemeteriesofcolumbus.org/cemeteries/st-joseph-cemetery
Find a Grave	Saint Joseph Cemetery

Saint Joseph Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery owned and operated by the Diocese of Columbus located in Lockbourne, Ohio. The original 194-acre property was purchased in 1907 under the direction of Bishop James Hartley, and subsequent purchases expanded its size to itts current 755 acres. Hartley blessed the cemetery on All Souls' Day of 1913 and the first interrment was made in the same month. In 1929, the English Gothic Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel was completed on the property. The chapel would serve as a parish church from 1947 to 1970, and the property also hosted a summer camp, Camp Saint Joseph, from 1926 to 1970. It is the largest of the four cemeteries administered by the Diocese of Columbus. ^[1]

History

Founding

In July of 1907, Bishop Hartley purchased 194 acres four miles south of the city of Columbus, adjoining the Hartman Stock Farm, to be used as a new Catholic cemetery, supplementing the existing Catholic cemetery of Mount Calvary in downtown Columbus, which had been established in 1865. ^[2] On November 2, 1913, All Souls' Day, Bishop Hartley blessed the ground of the cemetery, citing overcrowding at Mt. Calvary in his sermon at the consecration. In the time between the purchase of the original land and the blessing of the graveyard, 30 more acres were acquired, and $42,000 spent on improvements to the land, including a house for the sexton, the paving of five miles of roadway, and the removal of trees and shrubbery. The consecration procession for the property was lead by Fr. John O'Neil, who is the only burial in the Mother of Sorrow's twelve crypt vaults. ^{[3] [4]}

Camp St. Joseph

In the May of 1926, the Diocese began raising funds for the construction of a summer camp for boys on 55 acres on the eastern portion of the cemetery property, at the banks of Big Walnut Creek. ^[5] The property was dedicated on July 4, 1926 and served 200 campers between the ages of 10 and 16 in its first summer of operation. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Sunday Mass was celebrated in the dining hall of the camp until the construction of Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel. ^{[9] [6]} The Knights of Columbus assisted in operating the camp until 1937. ^[10] Due to financial issues, the Columbus Diocese discontinued summer camp at St. Joseph in 1971. ^[11] The site remained open for group rentals into the next decade. ^{[10] [12]}

Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel and Parish

In the spring of 1929, Hartley commsioned the building of Our Mother of Sorrows, a devotional chapel built in a cruciform English Gothic style out of red brick and Indiana limestone, with seating for 200 people. On the west gable is a stone belfry with two bronze bells, one for the Angelus and one for the De Profundis. The church was designed by Edward A. Ramsey, cost $35,000, and was completed by the fall of 1929. ^{[13] [14]}

Bishop Michael Ready announced in July of 1947 that a parish would be formed at Mother of Sorrows chapel to serve the residents of Lockbourne and nearby Shadeville, with the first Mass being offered on July 27 to a congregation of 39. As the building had been constructed for infrequent use, it needed heating and air conditioning installed, as well as additional vestments and vessels for Mass. In 1950 a wooden figure of the Pietà was installed above the altar, and a station wagon purchased to drive the nine schoolchildren of the parish to the chapel, where a bus from St. Ladislas School would pick them up. In 1957 a new office building northwest of the church was constructed, housing office space as well as consultation rooms for families. ^[15] Sunday Mass attendance peaked at 234 in 1965 and decined in the following years, and the parish was merged into St. Ladislas in 1970. ^[4]

A $300,000, five-month renovation to Our Mother of Sorrows was completed in November of 2022 and included the installation of LED lighting, the return of the Pieta to above the altar, refinishing pews, and roof repairs along with tuckpointing the exterior brickwork. The chapel hosted approvimately 60 funeral services in 2021. ^[1]

Notable interments

• James Joseph Hartley (d. 1944), fourth bishop of Columbus ^[10]
• Michael Joseph Ready (d. 1957), fifth bishop of Columbus ^[10]
• Clarence Edward Elwell (d. 1973), eighth bishop of Columbus ^[10]
• Mildred Gillars (d. 1988), American Nazi propagandist convicted of treason ^[16]
• Chalmers Wylie (d. 1998), Ohio politician ^[17]
• George Blackburn (d. 2006), head coach of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team from 1955 to 1960 ^[18]
• Dominic Salvatore Gentile (d. 1951), American Flying ace of World War II ^[19]
• Joseph Carr (d. 1939) , National Football League president from 1921 to 1939 ^[20]
• Vic Janowicz (d. 1996), first Heisman Trophy winner to play in both the National Football League and Major League Baseball ^[21]
• Bill Hinchman (d. 1963), Major League Baseball outfielder ^[22]
• Ted Jordan (d. 2005), film and television actor best known for appearances on Gunsmoke from 1966 to 1975. ^[23]
• Lee Magee (d. 1966), MLB player and manager ^[24]
• Bob Quinn (d. 1954), MLB executive ^[25]

References

1. "St. Joseph Cemetery chapel undergoing renovation". The Catholic Times. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
2. "The Catholic Columbian, Volume 32, Number 29, 20 July 1907: The Catholic Columbian". The Catholic Columbian: 6. 20 July 1907.
3. "The Catholic Columbian, Volume 38, Number 45, 7 November 1913: The Catholic Columbian". The Catholic Columbian: 8. 7 November 1913.
4. Schlegel, Donald (15 September 2025). "Our Mother of Sorrows Parish Lockbourne, Ohio, 1947-1970" (PDF). Bulletin of the Catholic Record Society of the Diocese of Columbus.
5. "TO LAUNCH FUND DRIVE Promoters WIll Sekk to Raise $45,000 for Improvement of Camp St. Joseph". The Columbus Dispatch . 10 May 1926. Raising of $45.000 will start simultaneously today with the construction of a new boy's camp to be known as Camp St, Joseph on the Big walnut river. 11 miles south of Columbus. The fund Is being raised to construct, equip and maintain the camp. The ground contains 50 acres donated by Blshop J. J. Hartley. Organizations will be perfected this week at each of the Columbus parishes to carry out this drive. It is likely that no boys from parishes outside of the city will be admitted to the camp for the present it is said.
6. by Catholic Church. Diocese of Columbus (Ohio) (1943). The History Of The Diocese Of Columbus: Volume II, 1918 1943.
7. "Camp St. Joseph". The Columbus Dispatch . 5 July 1926. p. 22.
8. "Camp St. Joseph to open June 25". The Columbus Dispatch . 1 June 1927. p. 17.
9. "Great Times at St. Joseph Camp". The Columbus Dispatch . 17 July 1917. p. 1.
10. Donald Schlegel (2001). Illustrated History Of The Diocese Of Columbus Donald Schlegel 2001.
11. Wilson, Michelle (2 July 1971). "For Kids at Camp Somebody's Sacrifice Makes a Summer". The Columbus Dispatch . pp. 4B.
12. "Camp St. Joseph Summer Reservations". The Columbus Dispatch . 30 March 1979. pp. B7.
13. "The new chapel of Our Mother of Sorrows at St. Joseph cemetery is nearing completion". The Columbus Dispatch . 5 October 1929. p. 7. The new chapel of Our Mother of Sorrows at St. Joseph cemetery is nearing completion. It is not a mortuary chapel but a chapel of devotion. There is a sanctuary with three stone altars and a stone communion rail, the Stations of the Cross, the confesional, the choir loft and an auditorium that will seat 200 people. When finished mass will be said there frequently and funerals may be held from there at any time. It is hoped to have it ready for dedication before the end of October. The Angelus and De Profundis bell will ring every evening at 6 o'clock throughout the year.
14. Ohio Architect. March 1941. p. 4.
15. "Construction to Begin on New Office Building at St. Joseph Cemetery Soon". The Catholic Times. 1957-04-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
16. Writer, Staff. "So to Speak | Joe Blundo commentary: Sally's axis of evil ended at convent in Columbus". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
17. "Chalmers P. Wylie Collection RG: 57/g: Preliminary Inventory" (PDF). The Ohio State University. 2017.
18. "Former UC Coach George Blackburn Dies". University of Cincinnati Athletics - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
19. "The Last Flight of Don Gentile, legendary WWII Fighter Pilot". 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
20. "Joe Carr – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved 2025-11-23.
21. Karsko, Bernie (3 March 1996). "OSU FOOTBALL GREAT VIC JANOWICZ BURIED". The Columbus Dispatch . pp. 3E.
22. "Ex-Baseball Great Hinchman Dies". The Columbus Dispatch . 21 February 1963. p. 34.
23. "OBITUARIES JORDAN (FRIEDMAN) Ted Jordan". The Columbus Dispatch . 6 April 2005. pp. B05.
24. Lee, Bill (2003). The baseball necrology : the post-baseball lives and deaths of over 7,600 major league players and others. Internet Archive. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co. ISBN   978-0-7864-1539-7.
25. "J. A. ROBERT QUINN, I BASEBALL LEADERI; Former Head of Red Sox and[ Braves DeadmDirector of J Cooperstown Museum '{". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-11-23.