Horrifying History of Coshocton will be told at Oak Ridge Cemetery on Halloween
COSHOCTON − The Horrifying History of Coshocton via the Coshocton County District Library will be presented by Robert Kehl from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Halloween night at Oak Ridge Cemetery at the corner of North Sixth and Cemetery streets.
If weather is inclement, the presentation will be in the community room of the main library, 637 Chestnut St. Registration will be required if the event is held at the library. If outside, bring a chair and dress for the weather.
Coshocton's past is full of history, some intriguing and delightfully macabre. The program, in its third year, will feature all new true tales of murders and more from the county's past. Usually four to six stories are told in depth with more information and details than people might have heard in passing.
"We have gotten such great reception for this event and it has become one of the biggest programs of the year for us," Kehl said.
He said the presentation is not necessarily a cemetery walk and everything won't be related to the cemetery, but the oldest graveyard in the city makes a perfect setting.
"The program delves into some of the horrifying events of Coshocton's past, usually more than 50 years old. Some of the stories may involve people that are buried there, but mostly they deal with all of Coshocton County history," Kehl said. "Telling these true tales of Coshocton's gruesome past on Halloween night seemed much more fitting to be held in the cemetery near the beautiful old stones."
Kehl shared four teasers from past stories he's relayed, showing the murderous past of the area:
● In 1905, an event shook Coshocton and all of the state of Ohio. It resulted in a 36-year-old woman that was dead and an unreliable bloodhound leading a posse to a man named Ben Dickerson's home in Cooperdale. Dickerson was saved from lynching by the sheriff, but thrown in jail. A few months later, a trial took place that was filled with inconsistencies, lies and possibly corruption. It had the attention of all of Ohio. In the end, a jury found Dickerson guilty and sentenced him to death. A month before his execution, an appeals court reversed the decision. Dickerson wasn't in the clear yet though.
● Sometimes we know who committed the crime, but we don't know what to do with them. In 1909, a young man named Will Davis wanted to protect his mother from his abusive father. It resulted in a brutal killing with a hatchet that the courts tried to prove was not in self-defense, but rather premeditated murder. Coshocton's attention was stolen for months as they waited to find out how the young boy would be treated for killing his father.
● In 1932, a 33-year-old Keene resident named John Dunfee was shot point blank with a shotgun by his 20-year-old lover. The woman confessed to the terrible crime the next day, stating John was going to leave her. What should have been an open and shut case devolved into a spectacle that left many residents of the county upset with the justice system.
● Coshocton had one of the unluckiest women to ever exist. Her name was Amelia Webb and her husband died suddenly at a young age. In late 1931, her only son became sick and passed away. Then more bad news came as her daughter also got sick and died a few months later. Amelia was left with no children and no husband and, just a few months later, her nephew who was staying with her became deathly ill. He survived, thanks to a doctor recognizing arsenic poisoning. This immediately was linked to the other deaths and Amelia was arrested and put on trial for murder. This resulted in what was probably the most famous trial in Coshocton's history, as newspapers as far as San Francisco were covering the story. The twists and turns shocked absolutely everyone who read it.
For more information, contact the library at 740-622-0956.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: On Halloween, learn the Horrifying History of Coshocton at cemetery
