Ottine Cemetery

OTTINE CEMETERY

LOCATED IN THE VILLAGE OF OTTINE

Ottine was named by combining Adolph Otto's last name and his wife's first name Christine.

I visited Ottine Cemetery on Friday Nov 27th 2009 at about 8 in the morning. It is located in a pasture in the Village of Ottine. When I walked in the first thing I noticed was the school bell. The bell was placed there in 2001 during the renovation of the cemetery. There are many grave plots that are surrounded by fence, glancing at these I can tell they are family plots. According to the sign there are more people buried here than there are headstones and their where abouts are not known. This makes it feel a little strange, because you might be walking on grave sites. There is a large Otto plot which means the Otto family must have either come back or some remained when Adolph Otto got sick and went to San Antonio. He is not buried at this cemetery, but rather at a cemetery in San Antonio. You can tell that there is German descent in the Otto's because they use K in Oct. instead of the C. Most of the adults lived average lives. Researching the village has led me to believe that most worked in the Grist Mill. Ottine also was know for it's thermal waters. In the 1939 the first center was opened for children with polio. The water was pumped in and the children used it for theraputic benefits. Some of the children in this cemetery may very well have been in the hospital here. There are unknown markers through out the cemetery, but I am not sure if they are any of the people listed on the marker at the front of the cemetery. Most of the the head stones were made of stone and were old and weathered, but you

could still make out the names and dates. It truely made you interested to find out more about them. I did not find anything particular about the individual names, but the town however has its own ghost stories. The people in the town disagree, but outsiders have made all sorts of claims.I however stayed not to far from the town and don't have any ghost stories of my own to share, but I know I'll be looking for them next time. The cemetery is located on someone's property and seems to be well kept. I sure have more questions after the visit than I do answers.