Vacations Blog

The Marion Cemetery

Who doesn’t love a good mystery?  “Nobody!” as my 2 year old daughter would exclaim.  Not that she understands the word mystery, but that is her standard response to the question, “who doesn’t love (insert you object of choice.)”  The unexplained intrigues me and though not necessarily given to belief in paranormal happenings, should ghosts, spirits and hauntings be offered at any time as plausible explanation–I’ll get a goose bump or two.  The rotating Merchant Ball in Marion Cemetery is riddled with theories and postulations.

The Merchant Ball is a 5200 pound granite orb resting atop a five foot high pedestal.

The Merchant Ball

It is nearly 48 inches in diameter.  It is big!  It was placed in 1896 at the Merchant family plot in the Marion Cemetery as a distinguishing homage to their final resting place.  The ball was polished in place once set and at the time, one of the most impressive monuments on the eastern portion of the graveyard.  Though dwarfed by many of the grave markers erected since, the Merchant Ball to this day remains one of the most impressive and talked about in the cemetery.  For you see, the ball spins!

The family noticed after a couple of years that the large unpolished spot at the base of the ball had become visible.  The family was concerned that they had been on the receiving end of poor workmanship, had the crew reset the ball at great expense and for a time was satisfied that all was well.

Cue the mystery…

The Spot on the Merchant Ball

Over time the spot re-emerged and has since been in perpetual motion.  The mysterious rotating orb has been the subject of much study and debate and in 1929 was even included in the famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not.  Theories range from air pockets, seismic or acoustic disturbances, mischievous squirrels (that one is from my kids) to it’s just plain haunted.

Either way, it’s pretty cool and my kids had a blast investigating the Merchant Ball and offering their own explanations as to why it spins.  Oh, by the way.  Don’t go expecting to see the ball actually moving.  It has been estimated that the rotation rate is about 2 inches annually.

The Marion Cemetery is located at 620 Delaware Avenue in Marion, Ohio and is open sunrise to sunset.  Admission is of course, free.  That is, unless you plan on staying.