The Batavia Cemetery Association has announced the return of its annual Halloween Candlelight Ghostwalk. Meet the famous and infamous movers and shakers who shaped and influenced Batavia on Saturday, October 23, on a ghost walk through the Historic Batavia Cemetery on Harvester Avenue.
The guided tour on candlelit paths will bring guests to meet men and women of Batavia, who, for various reasons, held great power and exerted great influence in their day, were victims of tragic events, or both. Among the ghosts who will tell their stories are: Philemon Tracy, one of the few Confederate officers buried in the north; Ruth, the unknown victim of a horrendous murder; Joseph Ellicott, a man of great power and great flaws; and William Morgan, the man who disappeared and was allegedly murdered before he could reveal the secrets of the Masons.
Also visiting will be Civil War veteran General John H. Martindale, who was Military Governor of the District of Columbia in 1865, and James Holden, a sergeant in the American Revolution. Dean and Mary Richmond, who greatly influenced business and civic life in Batavia in the 1800s, will meet with guests in their beautiful mausoleum on the last stop of the tour. Mr. Richmond made a fortune in Great Lakes shipping and was the second president of the New York Central Railroad. Mrs. Richmond vastly expanded her husband’s fortune after his death and sat on the boards of many businesses and civic organizations.
Tours begin at 7 p.m. and run every fifteen minutes until 8:30 p.m. Admission is $10 and includes refreshments. Reservations are required. Proceeds benefit the upkeep and restoration of the cemetery. For information or to make reservations, call 943-5662.
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