Abandoned Bridgewater Cemetery

WARNING: The historical information within this posting may be offensive to some as it has a strong racial history. It does not reflect the views and/or opinions of Michael C. Wells Photography, but rather delivers historical information as to why the things are how they are today.

Last month we traveled to Scottsburg, Indiana to Bridgewater Cemetery. Also known as 
Bridgewater-Owens Cemetery.

An abandoned cemetery full of only white people, most of them Civil War veterans, this small cemetery at the top of a small hill has many paranormal stories. 

Red eyes have been reported in the woods in the back of the cemetery. Some have reported it is colder inside the cemetery than out, while others report glowing tombstones and being chased out of the cemetery by a white horse.

Black people were only taken inside the cemetery to be hung during its use.  After being hung and pronounced dead, they were buried outside the cemetery, as the white man did not see it fit at the time to even be buried next to a black man. Sadly, one of the largest graves outside the cemetery has two small stones next to it.  It was a family that had two small children. It was very hard to even photograph, knowing that the children were most likely hung simply due to the color of their skin.

Some people hanging blacks at the cemetery didn't even think that a black man deserved to enter the cemetery to be hung. They were hung outside the gates on what is known as the "Death Tree." Today, it still stands, but surely shows evidence of its age and use. People say that the tree is not dying, but rather the spirits haunting it are slowly squeezing the life from it, but leaving just enough to keep it standing. 

At the front gate, we found half an alcoholic drink and a brand new cigarette. One of our accompanies said, "Someone must have gotten really scared." When we asked him why he said, "As a smoker, you're never going to just leave a brand new cigarette lying there like that. He must have seen something and got freaked out!"  

As we traveled into the cemetery we did not feel any colder as some reported. But, we were also there in the middle of the day instead of at night like most people.

Inside the cemetery: