This year’s featured cemetery location is Spring Grove Cemetery, 1483 N. Heck Hill Road, St. Paris. Spring Grove Cemetery has striking monuments, several of which tie Champaign County in with the Civil War.
Submitted photo
Submitted story
ST. PARIS – Champaign County cemeteries are rich with stories about past generations and ties to many famous, and infamous people, places and events.
The Champaign County Preservation Alliance (CCPA) is looking forward to a truly unique tour this year over Veterans Day weekend, Nov. 11-12.
This year’s featured cemetery location is Spring Grove Cemetery, 1483 N. Heck Hill Road, St. Paris. Spring Grove Cemetery has striking monuments, several of which tie Champaign County in with the Civil War. This tour will be focused on these Civil War veterans – both men and women.
Tours will be limited to approximately 45 or so minutes each with tour guide Jared Shank telling the stories of several Champaign County natives. Shank grew up outside of St. Paris, he graduated from Graham Local Schools in 2002 and is an 82nd Airborne Division combat veteran.
“My dad was a huge Civil War history buff and that has carried down to me,” said Shank. “I do occasional living history events and I also participate in Civil War competition shooting where you don a uniform and shoot period-accurate Civil War-era weapons. I also love visiting Civil War battlefields, especially Gettysburg (Pa).”
There will be two tours each day, one at 1 p.m. and the other at 2 p.m. The walking tour is not handicap accessible and will require participants to wear comfortable shoes in order to walk carefully in grass and on asphalt. No pets are allowed to attend.
To secure yourself a spot, please go online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/civil-war-cemetery-tour-tickets-730898776917?aff=oddtdtcreator to purchase tickets directly from the CCPA. Tickets are $12 each. Once purchased, tickets are non-refundable.
This walking tour is not “haunted” and is educational in nature, people of all ages are invited to buy a ticket and walk along to hear some stories that belong solely to the people of Champaign County.
The CCPA works hard to preserve historical places and monuments in Champaign County. Monies raised during several annual fundraising events are returned to the county in the form of the annual matching façade grant program. This program recognizes and supports residential and business owners completing façade preservations to their homes or businesses.
If you’d like to become a member of the CCPA or would like to donate in kind, please visit this website to learn more: https://www.ccpapreserveohio.org/.
Info submitted by CCPA
