Washington Park, Cincinnati, 2025

A Mystery in an American Cemetery

  • The Excavation

    In 2010 the City of Cincinnati hired a local cultural resource management firm Gray&Pape to excavate Washington Park - the cite of the former Episcopal Burying Ground, 1818-1860 - before they put in an underground parking lot.

  • The Discovery

    Archaeologists uncovered the remains of 71 individuals but only 53 complete skeletons. One of them completely broke the pattern of White settler burials.

  • The "Jane Doe" of Washington Park

    Jane Doe was a 3-5 year old female, deposed face-down in her fabric-lined coffin, defying 2,000 years of Christian burial norms. Even stranger, her someone had nailed a dozen iron spikes into the sides of the coffin. Why and they done this? What did it mean?

“Jane Doe Deposed Face-Down in Early 19th Century Child’s Clothes,” Katherine Ranum, 2025.

The Evidence

Using church ledgers, city records, cemetery records, newspaper articles, and archaeological reports, Dr. Ranum tracked the names and biographies of those buried in the former Episcopal Burying Ground, looking for the identity of Jane Doe.

Analyzing the Data

Comparing data points like age, cause of death, and region of origin helps narrow down why and how a child might be buried face down with counter-magical rituals. Curtis Ranum (MA in applied statistics and, yes, the author’s brother) crunched the numbers.

Reads “Remains Uncovered During Washington Park Renovation, 2011-2012. The Park Was the Site of 19th Century Cemeteries.” Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.

The History of Washington Park