In the middle of nowhere in southeast Ohio, this weathered little church has survived since it was built in 1841, set far back from the road and hidden by trees. This church was started by a Reverend Frankenburg and the congregation was made of mostly of German and Swiss immigrants. For six years before the church was constructed, he preached in private homes and barns. Many of the names of the original congregation appear on headstones in the cemetery surrounding the church, each family getting their own small plot. The cemetery is considered inactive but does receive occasional visitors, judging by the flags and other memorabilia that appear near a few graves. Unfortunately, some headstones have broken or fallen; these have been placed along a wall inside the church.

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7. Faded paint and the outlines of objects are still visible on the ceiling and rear wall.


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10. The headstones in the church are mostly unreadable, most likely the oldest ones.


11. One stone in the church dates from 1856.

THAT is an awesome find! I have a thing for abandoned churches/gatehouses etc. in old cemeteries so this post gets two thumbs up from me!

Weathered YES! but, awesome find. Really like 4 and especially 5. Poor place is being held together by a wing and a prayer.

The patches of snow speak of finality even more.

1 and 5 stand out to me. Looks like a rad find. I find visiting old cemeteries to be a bit haunting and elegiac.. (In a nice way, if that makes sense.) =]

you didn't take that ancient head stone home?

Posted by icyGraveR you didn't take that ancient head stone home?

As cool as that is, I wouldn't bring somebody's headstone home. I'm not superstitious but that just sounds like bad mojo.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I really enjoyed hanging out here. Like some of you said, there's just something about old churches and cemeteries that makes them awesome and eerie at the same time.

Poor place is being held together by a wing and a prayer.

I really wish I would have thought to use some version of this as my title.

you didn't take that ancient head stone home?

Nope. It belongs at the cemetery. It would definitely provoke some interesting questions from visitors though.