The Pauper’s Cemetery held those lost to the Ohio

Those that were once washed away try to find themselves again along the Riverfront

Long before scenic walkways and people enjoying their lunch was the mainstay of Brandenburg’s Riverfront, the area of Flippins Run held a pauper’s cemetery. A pauper’s cemetery is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or those that could not afford burial costs. A low-lying area near the river was designated the pauper’s cemetery.

From time to time bodies of people who fell in the river and drowned were found washed on shore in Brandenburg.  The town Marshall or Sheriff would telegraph a description to cities up stream, such as West Point and Louisville.  The body would be buried and sometimes re-interred elsewhere when next of kin claimed it.  Many bodies were buried, and few had markers.  Those that did, had them washed away by the annual flooding.  The exact location of this cemetery has been lost to time and the whims of the Ohio River. But some say that bodies still rest along the river bank.

You know what they say about those who have had their final resting place disturbed? There have been many stories from the years of forms roaming the park, the riverbank, and the woods at night. They are looking for themselves, lost long ago to the river and time.

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