Pioneer cemetery in Athens Township, Ringgold County
Mount Ayr, IA
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Permission required from current property owner
Access
Limited Access
Rural gravel access, grass
Equipment
Photos OK
Tedrow Cemetery sits in Athens Township, Ringgold County, Iowa, approximately five miles southeast of Mount Ayr and 4.8 miles from Kellerton. Find a Grave records 96 memorials, with 98 percent photographed. Among the interred are Civil War veterans and founding members of both Kellerton and Mount Ayr.
The Ringgold County IAGenWeb Project documents that the cemetery was severely vandalized, causing nearly $20,000 worth of damage with forty headstones knocked over and broken. The cemetery is on private property; the current owner asks that visitors contact him before entering. Trespassing is not tolerated.
Sources
Local tradition describes Tedrow as a small cemetery surrounded by haunted woods. Anonymous community accounts describe a glowing object in the trees that drains car batteries, dark figures watching from tree trunks, abrupt weather changes — sudden chill on hot days, rain on clear ones — and percussive sounds resembling a metal sheet being struck. The accounts describe a cult-ceremonial origin somewhere between fifty and a hundred years ago, with no specifics.
No investigation report, local newspaper feature, or historical society record supports these accounts. Treat them as folklore. The vandalism documented by the Ringgold County genealogy project is the only verified disturbance recorded at the site.
Tedrow Cemetery sits on private property in Athens Township, Ringgold County, approximately five miles southeast of Mount Ayr. The current owner requires advance permission for visits. Civil War veterans and founding members of Kellerton and Mount Ayr are interred here. Do not enter without contacting the owner.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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